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PRINCETON    •    NEW  JERSEY 


PRESENTED  BY 

Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions 

SCC  til  1,123 

Presbyterian  Church  (U.S.A.) 

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A    SKETCH 


OF   THE 


SYRIA  MISSION, 


BY   THE 


REV.  JAMES   S.   DENNIS, 

MISSIONARY    IN    SYRIA. 


CONTENTS. 


Map,. 


I.  A  Glance  at  the  Field  and  its  Pecu- 
liarities,       3 

1st.  Its  Geography  and  History. 

2d.    Its  People  and  Religions. 

3d.    Its  Difficulties  and  Encouragements 


n.  A  Statement  of  Progress  dp  to  the 

Present  Time 14 

1st.  As  regards  Evangelistic  Work. 
2d.    As  regards  Education. 
3d.    As  regards  Press  Work. 

HI.  A  Glance  at  the  Present  Condition  and 
Future  Prospects  of  the  Mission.. .    30 


NEW    YORK: 

MISSION  HOUSE,  23  CENTRE  STREET. 

1872. 


J.of  Irwad 

SYRIA 
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SKETCH  OF  THE  SYRIA  MISSION; 


The  object  of  this  pamphlet  is  to  bring  to  the  attention  of  its  readers  the 
Syria  Mission  as  it  is  at  the  present  time.  Any  attempt  to  give  a  history  of 
this  interesting  field  would  require  more  space  than  is  desirable  in  this  pub- 
lication ;  those  desiring  a  more  complete  historical  review  than  is  given 
here  are  referred  to  the  excellent  pamphlet  already  issued  from  the  pen  of 
Rev.  Thomas  Laurie,  D.D.,  and  to  the  forthcoming  "  History  of  the  Syria 
Mission,"  by  Rev.  Isaac  Bird,  soon  to  be  issued  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Publication. 

We  propose  herein  simply  to  group  together  in  a  condensed  and  con- 
nected review  the  salient  facts  of  interest  which  mission  work  in  Syria 
presents,  and  if  possible  to  bring  the  field  more  vividly  and  clearly  before  the 
minds  of  its  friends  at  home.     This  plan  involves  : 

I.    A  GLANCE  AT  THE  FIELD  AND  ITS  PECULIARITIES. 
II.    A  STATEMENT  OF  PROGRESS  UP  TO  THE  PRESENT  TIME. 
HE.    A    GLANCE    AT    THE     PRESENT     CONDITION   AND     FUTURE     PROSPECTS     OF    THE 
MISSION. 


THE   FIELD   AND   ITS    PECULIARITIES. 

1.  Its  Geography  and  History. — The  geographical  limits  of  the  field, 
reach  from  Acre  on  the  sea  coast  northward  for  about  150  miles,  and 
extend  from  the  coast  inland  an  average  breadth  of  fifty  miles.  The 
prominent  and  interesting  feature  of  the  natural  scenery  of  the  Syrian 
coast,  as  thus  limited,  is  the  grand  Lebanon  range,  which  towers  in 
sublimity  and  beauty  along  nearly  the  entire  extent  of  the  mission  territory. 
Along  the  sea-coast  are  populous  cities,  and  the  western  slopes  of  Lebanon 
are  thickly  dotted  with  villages,  some  of  them  of  considerable  size.  For 
convenience  in  the  prosecution  of  missionary  operations  this  whole  field  is 
subdivided  into  four  smaller  fields,  named  respectively  after  the  prominent 
and  central  station  where  the  missionary  families  reside,  the  Beirut,  Tripoli, 
Sidon,  and  Abeih  fields.     Beirut,  a  large  and  flourishing  city  of  80,000  in- 

*  The  papers  relating  to  Syria  published  recently  in  the  Foreign  Missionary,  have 
been  largely  drawn  upon  in  the  preparation  of  this  sketch.  J.  s.  D. 


habitants,  the  sea-port  of  Damascus,  with  which  it  is  connected  by  an 
elegant  carriage  road  scaling  both  ranges  of  the  Lebanons,  is  the  contra! 
and  most  important  station  of  the  field  ;  twenty-five  miles  down  the  coast 
is  Sidon,  the  head-quarters  of  the  southern  wTork  ;  fifty  miles  up  the  coast 
is  Tripoli,  the  base  of  operations  in  the  northern  regions ;  while  the  moun- 
tain field  is  worked  from  Abeih,  a  pleasant  village  clinging  to  the  western 
slope  of  Lebanon,  2400  feet  above  the  sea,  and  located  in  a  south-easterly 
direction  from  Beirut,  fifteen  miles  distant. 

The  historical  associations  of  the  region  now  occupied  by  the  Syria  Mis- 
sion lead  us  back  through  the  centuries  until  history  is  lost  in  tradition,  and 
our  only  source  of  authentic  information  is  found  to  be  the  few  brief  hints 
given  us  in  the  early  chapters  of  Genesis. 

This  narrow  plain  between  the  glittering  Lebanons  and  the  sea,  was  the  scene 
of  Phoenicia's  glory.  Yonder  is  Sidon,  of  which  we  read  in  the  10th  of  Gene- 
sis ;  just  there  is  Tyre,  sleeping  her  prophetic  sleep  amidst  the  ruins  of  ancient 
splendor,  which  for  1500  years  dazzled  the  world.  Two  thousand  years,  and 
over,  before  Christ,  she  was  born  of  royal  Sidon,  and  for  long  centuries 
the  history  of  these  renowned  cities  reveals  a  record  of  brilliant  prosperity 
and  guilty  luxury,  which  not  even  the  dimness  of  those  early  ages  can 
obscure. 

Upon  many  of  the  "  high  places"  of  Lebanon  and  Hermon  are  imposing 
ruins  of  ancient  temples,  where,  no  doubt,  were  celebrated  the  tragic  and 
idolatrous  rites  of  heathenism.  The  fertile  plain  of  the  Buka'a  was  the 
home  of  idolatry  ;  the  magnificent  ruins  of  Baalbec  are,  no  doubt,  the 
lingering  relics  of  one  of  the  most  imposing  centres  of  sun-worship  which 
the  world  has  ever  seen.  Just  over  the  crests  of  Anti-Lebanon  is  Damas- 
cus, probably  the  most  ancient  city  of  wThich  the  world  can  now  boast.  As 
we  run  our  eye  up  and  down  the  coast,  we  can  recall  to  mind  Assyrian, 
Egyptian,  Babylonian,  Persian,  Grecian,  Roman,  Arabian,  and  Turkish  con- 
querors, each  in  turn  marshalling  their  victorious  armies,  and  planting  their 
standards  upon  those  picturesque  shores.  Back  of  Tripoli,  upon  the  bleak 
heights,  may  still  be  found  a  grove  of  the  ancient  cedars  which  flourished, 
no  doubt,  in  the  times  of  David  and  Solomon  ;  wThile  the  very  earth  is  popu- 
lous with  the  tombs  and  sarcophagi  of  past  generations.  In  the  gardens 
of  Sidon,  in  1854,  were  found  some  copper  pots  full  of  the  beautiful  gold 
coins  of  Philip  of  Macedon  and  his  son  Alexander,  and  near  by,  in  1855,  was 
discovered  the  celebrated  sarcophagus  of  King  Ashmunazer,  son  of  Tabnith, 
son  of  Ashmunazer,  king  of  Sidon,  whose  Phoenician  inscription  is  the  long- 
est which  has  yet  come  to  light,  and  in  most  perfect  preseiwation.  Every 
step  we  take  in  this  i^ichly  historic  region,  brings  us  into  contact  with  the 
relics  of  the  long  past.  It  is,  therefore,  a  field  deeply  interesting  and  sug- 
gestive in  its  historical  associations.  Our  Lord  himself  once  trod  the  mis- 
sion soil  of  Syria,  when  He  visited  the  coasts  of  Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  was  at 
Csesarea  Philippi.     The  heights  of  Hermon  above  the    latter    place,  most 


5 

probably,  witnessed  His  Transfiguration.  Paul  touched  at  the  Syrian  sea-ports 
on  his  missionary  journeys.  This,  then,  is  sacredly  historic  soil,  and  a  tenderer 
interest  lingers  here  than  could  be  given  by  human  history  alone. 

2.  Its  People  and  Religions. — The  mission  is  in    the  heart  of  the   great 
Turkish  Empire,  Syria  being  a  province  of  the  Ottoman  Empire,  and  gov- 
erned by  a  Turkish  Governor  General,  receiving  his  appointment  from  Con- 
stantinople, and  having  his  residence  at   Damascus.      Since  the  civil  wars 
of  18G0,  Mount  Lebanon  has  been  an  independent  Pashalic,  whose  governor 
is  selected  from  one  of  the  nominally  Christian  sects.  The  present  Governor, 
Franco  Pasha,  is  a  Maronite.     Although  there  is  a  diversity  of  nationalities 
throughout  the  field,  the  spoken  language  is  universally  the  Arabic  ;  a]l  mis- 
sionary operations  are  through  this  medium  of  communication.     The  popu- 
lation within  the  geographical  limits  of  the  field,  is  a  little  less  than  a  million  ; 
and  a  more  complex,  fragmentary  and  antagonistic  million,  cannot  be  found 
in  any  other  single  spot  on  the  face  of  the  earth.    Side  by  side,  either  in  sepa- 
rate villages,  or  in  distinct  quarters  of  the  same  city  or  village,  iive,  generally 
in  a  state  of  mutual  distrust  and  alienation,  the  Moslem,  the  Metawely,  the 
Druze,  the  Orthodox  Greek,  the  Papal  Greek,  the  Maronite,  the  Latin  Cath- 
olic, the  Nusairiyeh,  the  Jacobite  and  the  Jew  ;  while  the  wild  Bedouin  has 
his  home  in  the  neighboring  desert.     Protestant  Christian  missions  are  here 
face  to  face  with  two  of  the  most  fanatical^Ditter  and  zealous  opposing  sys- 
tems to  be  found  in  any  mission  field  ;  viz.    Mohammedanism,  and  the  de- 
generate Eastern  Christianity.    mThe  ultimate  aim  of  all  Protestant  mission    ♦ 
work  in  the  Orient _>  is  to  plant  and  nourish  a  true  Christianity  in  the  midst 
of  Mohammedanism,  with  the  hope  of  ultimately  gaining  a  victory  for  the 
Gospel  over  Islam  ;  and,  in  the  prosecution  of  this  aim,  the  work  is  directly 
upon  the  degenerate,  erring  Christian   sects.     Hence  there  is  in  Syria  no 
single  stratum,  social  or  religious,  upon  which   to  work;  as,  for  example, 
some"  anciently  united  and  historic  church  or  people,  like  the  Armenians. 
But  the  task  is,  to  fuse  into  one  harmonious,  evangelical  church,  these  diverse 
and  intensely  antagonistic  elements  ;  to  draw  them  into  fraternal  and  con- 
fiding unity  ;  to  form  a  church  which  will  be  itself  a  centre  of  organized, 
self-supporting  missionary  operations  ;  and  thus  to  redeem  Christianity  from 
the  scandal  and  shame  which  attaches  to  her  history  in  the  Orient.     Hith-   <" 
erto  the   Christianity  of    the  East   has   been  itself  the   strong   argument 
against  Christianity.     In  the  midst  of  this  ancient  and  curious  society,  with 
its  striking  and  peculiar  antagonisms,  which  have  been  petrifying  for  centu- 
ries, until  their  absurdity  and    bitterness  fairly  defy  representation  to  the 
American  reader,  is  located  the  Syria  Mission,  with  its  heroic  history,  its 
precious  names,  its  earnest  and  persevering  toils,  its  encouraging  successes, 
and  its  brightening  prospects  ;  now  the  inheritance  of  the  re-uniied  Presby- 
terian Church. 

Of  these  various  sects  the  nominal  Christians  are  perhaps  more  nuiner- 


ous  than  any  other  one  class  of  people,  consisting  of  about  250,000  Maron- 
ites,  70,000  Orthodox  Greeks,  50,000  Greek  Catholics,  and  a  few  thou- 
sand Syrian  Jacobites,  and  Armenians.  The  Druzes  may  number  50,000, 
and  the  remainder  of  the  population  are  Moslems,  Metawelies,  Nusairi- 
yeh,  Bedouin  Arabs,  and  Jews.  The  Maronites  reside  chiefly  in  Northern 
Lebanon.  The  Orthodox  Greeks,  and  Greek  Catholics,  are  found  in  the 
cities,  and  in  the  villages  of  the  mountains.  The  Druzes  occupy  the  south- 
ern half  of  Lebanon,  the  valley  of  the  Upper  Jordan,  and  the  western  slopes 
of  Hermon.  The  Metawelies  are  found  chiefly  in  Sidon,  Tyre,  and  the  moun- 
tains east  of  those  cities,  also,  at  the  north  end  of  Lebanon,  and  in  the 
Buka'a  about  Baalbec.  The  Nusairiyeh  dwell  on  the  mountains  about 
Safeeta,  and  in  a  few  other  localities.  The  Jacobites  are  found  at  Hums, 
►Sudud,  and  dependent  villages.  The  Moslems  abound  in  the  chief  cities, 
and  in  parts  of  the  mountains  both  at  the  north  and  south  end  of  our  field. 
They  also  occupy  many  villages  in  the  Buka'a.  Fragmentary  tribes  of  tent- 
dwelling  Arabs  are  met  with  in  nearly  all  parts  of  our  field,  but  we  come 
in  contact  with  the  great  Bedouin  wanderers  of  the  desert  chiefly  in  the 
neighborhood  of  Hums  on  the  north-east,  and  Banias  at  the  south-east  of 
our  limits. 

Dr.  Thomson  of  the  Mission,  in  his  "  Land  and  the  Book,"  speaking  of 
the  uncongenial  and  inharmonious  relations  of  Syrian  society,  says:  "  The 
various  religions  and  sects  live  together,  and  practice  their  conflicting  super- 
stitions in  close  proximity,  but  the  people  do  not  coalesce  into  one  homoge- 
neous coimnunity,  nor  do  they  regard  each  other  with  fraternal  feelings. 
The  Sunnites  excommunicate  the  Shiites,  (rival  Moslem  sects,) — both  hate 
the  Druzes,  and  all  three  detest  the  Nusairiyeh.  The  Maronites  have  no 
particular  love  for  any  body,  and  in  turn  are  disliked  by  all;  which  is  true 
also  as  said  of  the  Druzes.  The  Orthodox  Greeks  cannot  endure  the  Greek 
Catholics;  and  the  fact  that  the  former,  more  generally  than  any  other4sect,  ac- 
cept the  missionary  and  the  Gospel,  arrays  all  other  sects  against  them. 
All  despise  the  Jews.  These  remarks  are  also  true  of  all  the  minor  divis- 
ions of  this  land." 

"Another  curious  fact,"  says  Dr.  Thomson,  "is,  that,  with  the  exception 
of  the  Jews  and  Bedouin  Arabs,  no  one  can  trace  back  his  own  origin  to 
any  ancient  race  or  nation.  The  general  mass  of  the  Moslems  are  the  ming- 
led descendants  of  the  various  races  who  composed  the  population  of  the 
Greek  Empire  at  the  time  ol  Mohamined;  and  this  original  confusion  of 
rices  lias  been  infinitely  augmented  during  the  twelve  centuries  of  their 
lawless  occupation.  In  all  the  Christian  sects  there  has  been  the  same 
blending  of  primitive  races,  and  a  large  infusion  of  foreign  and  European 
blood,  during  the  times  of  the  Crusades,  and  subsequently  even  to  our  day; 
so  that  the  most  intelligent  and  learned  admit  that  it  is  absolutely  impossi- 
ble, now,  to  ascertain  their  true  national  origin.  The  Maronites,  as  a  body, 
may  have  descended  from  the  ancient  Syrians.     The  Nusairiyeh  suggest  the 


idea  that  they  are  the  miserable  debris  of  the  accursed  Canaanites.  The 
Metawelies  appear  to  have  immigrated  from  Persia ;  they  have  a  decided 
resemblance  to  the  Jews.  In  the  inhabitants  of  Lebanon  and  the  plains  at 
its  base  we  may  possibly  find  some  traces  of  the  original  Phoenicians.  The 
Druzes  are  Arabs,  who  came  from  the  eastern  confines  of  Syria,  and  settled 
in  Lebanon  and  Anti-Lebanon  within  the  last  nine  hundred  years." 

The  Christian  sects  of  Syria,  as  well  as  some  others  in  the  East,  are  de- 
signated as  only  nominally  Christian,  for  the  reason  that,  while  they  are 
the  descendants  of  the  early  Christian  Church,  and  so  inherit  the  name  Chris- 
tian, they  are  yet  unchristian  in  the  degeneracy  of  their  corrupt  religious 
faith  and  practice,  and  have  long  since  forfeited  by  their  scandalous  lives, 
their  depraved  church -polity,  and  the  virtual  idolatry  of  their  religious  wor- 
ship, any  right  to  the  full  and  simple  title  of  Christians. 

There  are  marked  differences  in  the  religious  characteristics,  and  also  in 
the  accessibility  of  these  various  sects.  Of  all,  the  Orthodox  Greeks  are  the 
most  accessible  to  missionary  labor.  This  is  owing  to  several  causes.  No 
doubt,  the  most  influential  is,  that  the  Greek  Church  has  never  forbidden 
her  people  to  receive  and  read  the  Word  of  God.  They  have,  in  fact,  been 
always  willing  to  accept  at  our  hands  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  to  have 
them  taught  in  our  schools.  They  are  also  disposed  to  accept  the  Bible  as 
paramount  authority  on  religious  matters.  From  this  cause,  too,  they  are 
more  willing  to  read  other  religious  books,  to  converse  on  spiritual  topics, 
and  to  listen  to  the  preached  Gospel.  It  is  an  interesting  fact,  that  mission 
work  in  the  East,  thus  far,  has  been  blessed  with  a  rapid  and  special  success 
among  the  Armenians  and  Orthodox  Greeks,  who  alone  of  all  the  nomi- 
nal Christian  sects  have  cherished  a  respect  for  the  Bible,  and  among  whom 
it  has  never  been  a  proscribed  book.  God  is  remembering  in  mercy  those 
who  have  paid  even  a  formal  respect  to  His  Holy  Word.  The  Greeks  also  re- 
ject the  Papacy,  and  earnestly  protest  against  the  monstrous  pretensions  of  the 
Pope,  so  that  they  have  many  points  of  agreement  with  Protestants,  and,  to 
a  certain  extent,  look  upon  them  as  friends  and  allies.  Owing  to  these  and 
other  causes,  partly  social  and  partly  political,  these  people  are  everywhere 
open  to  missionary  labor  ;  most  of  the  members  of  our  churches  are 
from  this  sect,  and  as  they  are  found  in  considerable  numbers  throughout 
our  entire  field,  they  constitute  a  practical  working  basis  of  the  utmost  im- 
portance. 

The  Greek  Catholics — a  papal  off-shoot  from  the  Greek  Church,  which  be- 
gan about  150  years  ago — abound  most  in  the  cities  and  on  Lebanon  ;  and, 
though  greatly  restrained  by  a  watchful  Papal  hierarchy,  the  people  retain, 
and  at  times  assert  a  good  deal  of  independence,  and  from  the  mere  fact 
that  they  have  once  broken  away  from  their  original  community,  they  are 
the  more  ready  to  investigate  religious  subjects,  and  more  open  to  convic- 
tion, than  the  Maronites.  They  are,  like  the  Orthodox  Greeks,  a  minority, 
and  dwell  side  by  side   with  other  sects.     They  probably  number  a   larger 


8 

proportion  of  educated,  intelligent  and  enterprising  young  men,  than  any 
other  body  of  people  in  the  country. 

The  Maronites,  as  a  rule,  are  bigoted  Papists,  very  ignorant,  and  wholly 
subject  to  the  stringent  and  ever-watchful  control  of  their  clergy.  Their 
hierarchy  is  also  very  numerous,  well  organized  ;md  powerful,  being  reinfor- 
ced by  a  multitude  of  learned  Jesuits,  and  numberless  monks  and  nuns,  both 
native  and  foreign.  In  a  large  part  of  northern  Lebanon,  they  are  the  only 
inhabitants,  and  have  been  hitherto  inaccessible.  Still,  even  in  this  strong- 
hold of  the  Maronite  Patriarch,  the  light  of  the  Gospel  is  beginning  to 
penetrate,  in  spite  of  all  opposition;  and  not  only  individuals,  but  considera- 
ble communities  are  found,  from  time  to  time,  attempting  to  break  away 
from  their  bondage,  and  to  declare  themselves  Protestants.  This  number  is 
steadily  increasing,  and  there  is  good  reason  to  hope  that  a  wide  and  effectu- 
al door  for  the  Gospel  amongst  this  large  and  needy  people,  will  ere  long 
be  opened,  which  no  man  can  shut.  In  other  parts  of  our  field,  where  the 
Maronites  are  few,  they  are,  of  course,  more  accessible,  and  less  stringently 
bound  by  their  priests. 

The  Druzes  are,  and  always  have  been,  our  personal  friends — are  glad  to 
have  us  reside  amongst  them,  and  open  schools  for  the  education  of  their 
children.  Of  late,  many  of  their  most  enterprising  youth  are  seeking  a 
higher  education  in  our  seminaries,  and  hi  the  college.  It  is  very  desirable 
that  more  definite  and  adequate  measures  be  adopted  and  worked  efficiently 
for  their  conversion.  Their  religion  is  a  medley  of  Mohammedanism  and 
ancient  philosophical  systems — especially  that  of  Zoroaster — with  some 
notions  borrowed  apparently  from  Judaism  and  Christianity.  They  hold 
to  the  absolute  unity  of  the  Godhead,  and  that  the  highest  perfection 
of  man  is  to  have  all  his  powers  of  mind  and  heart  mystically  absorbed 
in  the  Deity.  According  to  their  views,  there  have  been  seven  law- 
givers and  ten  incarnations,  the  last  being  in  the  person  of  El  Hakeem, 
chief  founder  and  prophet  of  the  sect.  The  world  was  populated  instanta- 
neously with  beings  of  every  age  and  condition.  The  transmigration  of 
souls  is  a  cardinal  doctrine,  and  furnishes  a  just  and  convenient  system  of 
rewards  and  punishments.  The  number  of  Druzes  in  existence  is  not  to  be 
changed,  therefore  proselytism  is  undesirable,  and  apostacy  cannot  be  tolera- 
ted. Desertion  from  then  ranks  also  breaks  in  upon  an  organization  mar- 
vellously compact  and  effective  in  war  and  politics.  The  higher  mysteries  are 
known  only  to  the  initiated,  but  all  are  bound  to  unqualified  secrecy,  and, 
for  this  end,  any  deception  is  allowable.  China  is  inhabited,  as  they  sup- 
pose, by  their  co-religionists,  and  at  the  predicted  day  of  reckoning,  two  and 
a  half  millions  of  Chinese  monotheists  are  to  sweep  across  Asia,  crush  out  a 
war  that  shall  be  raging  between  Christians  and  Moslems,  and  enable  Ha- 
keem, again  in  human  form,  to  punish  all  who  reject  his  sway.  II is  armies 
shall  then  go  plundering  through  the  world,  and  finally  set  up  his  throne  in 
Egyp^  where  believers,  rewarded  with  rank  and  wealth,  shall  reign  with  him, 


9 

forever.  This  glorious  era  was  to  be  ushered  in  nine  centuries  after  the  es- 
tablishment of  the  faith.  Their  computation  declares  the  day  to  be  close  at 
hand;  among  the  ignorant,  expectation  is  high,  but  those  of  more  intelli- 
gence begin  to  question  the  traditions  of  a  Chinese  invasion,  and  to  fear 
some  stronger  faith  must  supplant  their  own.  If  such  is  to  be  the  case, 
rather  than  adopt  any  of  the  religions  about  them,  Protestantism  would  be 
their  choice,  particularly  as  their  patron,  the  English  nation,  professes  it ; 
few,  however,  are  yet  willing  to  turn  their  back  upon  the  religion  of  their 
fathers.  Light  is  beginning  to  make  its  way  among  them,  they  have  in  a  few 
instances  even  established  schools  of  their  own,  with  teachers  trained  by  the 
Mission.  Three  years  since  a  prominent  Druze  was  publicly  baptized  with  his 
children  at  Abeih,  and  last  year  nine  young  men,  representing  leading  families, 
entered  the  College  at  Beirut.  This  bold,  vigorous,  industrious  race,  lifted 
out  of  their  degrading  superstitions  by  the  power  of  the  Gospel,  would 
make  Mount  Lebanon  a  strong-hold  of  the  truth. 

The  Moslems  and  Metawelies  are,  as  a  rule,  still  inaccessible  to  direct  mis- 
sionary labor.  They  are,  however,  waking  up  to  the  necessity  of  education, 
and  in  many  places  some  of  their  children  are  beginning  to  attend  our 
schools.  In  Beirut  there  are  two  schools  exclusively  for  Moslem  girls,  which 
are  well  attended  though  conducted  on  Christian  principles.  A  spirit  of  in- 
quiry on  religious  subjects  is  manifested  more  frequently  than  in  former 
years,  and  a  few  are  found  who  express  a  desire  to  forsake  the  faith  of  Islam. 
Influences  are  at  work  which  tend  slowly  but  surely  to  break  down  the 
hitherto  impregnable  wall  of  separation  which  forbids  the  introduction  of 
the  Gospel  among  the  Moslem  population,  and  the  time  draws  on  apace 
when  this  vast  field  will  be  thrown  open  to  the  Church. 

Along  the  northern  limits  of  our  field  we  come  in  contact  with  the  large 
body  of  the  Nusairiyeh — a  semi-heathen  and  more  than  semi-barbarous  com- 
munity. These  people  are,  in  some  respects,  in  much  the  same'  state  as  the 
Druzes,  and  from  the  results  of  missionary  labor  among  them  by  the  breth- 
ren at  Ladakiyeh,  there  is  every  reason  to  hope  that  they  will  be  found 
to  offer  an  open  and  a  promising  field  of  evangelistic  labor. 

To  complete  tins  survey,  we  must  briefly  refer  to  the  Bedouin  Arabs. 
Small  fragments  of  these  tent-dwelling  descendants  of  Ishmael  are  met  with 
in  nearly  all  parts  of  our  field.  These  fragmentary  tribes  are,  to  a  certain 
extent,  stationary,  that  is,  they  never  wander  far  from  the  settled  parts  of 
the  country,  and  have  constant  intercourse  with  the  villagers  in  the  vicinity 
of  their  encampments.  In  the  region  of  Hamah  and  Hums,  however,  we 
are  brought  face  to  face  with  the  genuine  Bedouins,  who  swarm  all  over  the 
plains  and  deserts  of  Syria.  So  also  on  the  east  and  south  of  Banias  we 
encounter  the  same  wild  wanderers  in  great  numbers.  The  only  way  in 
which  mission  work  can  as  yet  be  carried  on  amongst  them,  is  to  send  col- 
porteurs to  wander  about  with  them  in  their  migrations.  This  kind  of 
work  has  been  prosecuted  for  several  years  by  the  Sidon  station,  and  is  at 


10 

present  urged  forward  at  the  expense  of  a  benevolent  English  gentleman, 
Mr.  Arlington  of  Leeds,  who  is  also  supporting  some  Bedouin  youth  in  the 
school  of  Mr.  Bistany,  in  the  hope  that  they  will,  in  time,  become  missionaries 
to  their  people  in  the  desert.  This  good  work  should  be  sustained  and  fos- 
tered by  every  wise  and  available  means,  in  the  assured  belief  that  the  time 
is  not  distant  when  these  outcast  children  of  the  desert  will  be  converted  to 
Christ. 

3.  Its  difficulties  and  encouragements. — The  preceding  survey  of  our  field 
will  of  itself  suggest  to  a  thoughtful  mind  some  of  the  difficulties  and  dis- 
couragements which  it  presents.  But  it  is  desirable  to  present  these  matters 
in  more  detail,  that  the  Church  may  be  placed  in  intelligent  sympathy  with 
the  Mission,  and  be  better  prepared  to  prosecute  those  measures  which  are 
necessary  for  success,  with  the  greater  patience,  perseverance  and  faith. 

The  fragmentary  and  antagonistic  character  of  the  population  creates  one 
of  the  most  obstinate  difficulties  in  the  way  of  general  and  rapid  evangel- 
istic success.  There  is  no  single,  common  stratum  of  society  underlying 
the  entire  community,  which,  as  a  basis,  might  be  worked  throughout  the 
land;  and  it  is,  of  course,  very  difficult  to  fuse  such  discordant  elements  into 
one  harmonious  Christian  community.  In  addition,  the  fanaticism  and  bitter 
prejudices  of  the  various  religious  sects — not  alone  the  Moslems  but,  as 
well,  the  nominally  Christian — make  a  profession  of  Protestantism  on  the 
part  of  an  individual  or  a  community,  a  trying  and  even  hazardous  ordeal. 
In  many  cases,  it  involves  either  the  severing  of  family  ties(  or  the  loss  of 
property,  or  social  and  political  disgrace,  or  persecution,  cruel  and  long-con- 
tinued ;  in  some  cases,  this  due  catalogue  would  seem  to  be  all  combined  in 
the  crushing  avalanche  of  troubles  which  overwhelms  the  feeble  and,  per- 
haps, faint-hearted  convert.  Neighbors,  friends,  and  even  relatives,  seem, 
sometimes,  to  be  transformed  into  incarnate  devils,  bent  upon  driving,  worry- 
ing, frightening,  or  torturing  the  recreant  one  back  into  the  fold  of  the  fam- 
ily religion  ;  wrhile  the  priests  are  equally  zealous  to  avail  themselves  of  ev- 
ery agency,  which  their  influence  or  official  station  can  command,  to  accom- 
plish the  same  end. 

Again,  each  of  these  sects  is  fenced  about  by  peculiar  creeds  and  customs, 
and  defended  by  watchful  leaders  and  zealous  subalterns.  To  counteract 
these  opposing  influences,  and  break  the  power  of  superstition,  prejudice, 
and  habit,  implies  a  vast  amount  of  labor,  study,  patience  and  perseverance. 
Then  again  these  barriers  against  the  reception  of  the  Gospel  are  im- 
mensely strengthened  by  political  entanglements.  Each  of  the  sects  has, 
or  seeks  to  have,  some  foreign  protector,  upon  whom  it  can  depend  for 
protection  against  its  enemies.  The  Maronites  look  to  the  French  Gov- 
ernment to  sustain  their  independent  existence  ;  the  Greeks  depend  upon 
Russia;  the  Greek  Catholics  upon  Austria;  and  the  Druzes  rely  upon 
England.     They  are  all,  in  fact,  dealt  with  by  these  various  governments  as  so 


11 

many  political  allies  in  this  country,  and  this  marks  them  off  into  distinct 
and  hostile  camps.  The  recent  war  between  France  and  Prussia,  brought 
out  this  element  of  discord  and  antagonism  in  an  amazing  manner. 

Time  and  other  influences  will,  however,  modify  these  partizan  animosi- 
ties. Experience  has  proved,  also,  that  even  this  fragmentary  and  antagonis- 
tic character  of  the  inhabitants  is  overruled,  in  the  providence  of  God,  for 
the  protection  of  persecuted  Protestants,  and  as  a  means  of  gaining  access 
to  many  parts  of  the  country,  which  might  otherwise  be  effectually  closed 
against  us.  The  Protestants  keep  aloof  from  all  these  entanglements,  and 
cultivate  friendly  relations  with  all,  that  the  Gospel  may  not  be  hindered,  but 
rather  commended  to  all  classes  of  the  community. 

Another  hindrance  to  missionary  success  in  Syria  is  the  familiarity  of  the 
people  with  the  language  of  religion,  while  strangers  to  its  power.  Relig- 
ious phrases  and  expressions  abound.  The  most  sacred  words  and  devout 
phrases  are  on  the  lips  of  all.  Their  very  salutations  contain  an  amount  of 
holy  language  that  is  astonishing.  Dr.  Laurie,  in  his  Historical  Sketch,  says: 
"  Good  people  in  America  are  often  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  there  can 
be  so  many  Christian  sects  in  Syria,  and  no  religion.  But  if  they  will  bear 
in  mind  the  natural  character  of  the  heart,  and  then  consider,  that  in  all  the 
nominal  churches  of  Syria  spiritual  instruction  is  never  given — that  the 
doctrines  of  the  Gospel  are  never  taught — that  piety  is  made  to  consist  in 
outward  ceremonies,  in  the  observance  of  days,  and  obedience  to  their 
priests — that  their  idea  of  worship  is  the  repetition  of  prayers  in  an  un- 
known tongue — that  the  distinction  between  the  regenerate  and  unregene- 
rate  is  known  only  as  the  difference  between  the  baptised  and  unbaptised — 
that  religion  is  separated  from  morality — that  the  priest  is  held  to  have 
power  to  pardon  sin,  and  does  it  for  money — that  their  preaching  is  either  a 
teaching  of  the  worst  errors  of  Popery,  or  incredible  and  silly  legends  of 
saints ;  they  will  see  how  the  name  can  exist  without  the  substance." 

The  mission  work  in  Syria  has  also  been  greatly  retarded  by  frequent  po- 
litical changes,  and  the  unsettled,  restless  state  of  society.  The  minds  of 
the  people  have  been  occupied,  and  their  attention  distracted,  by  the  con- 
stant expectation  or  fear  of  social  disorder  and  anarchy,  while  at  times 
civil  wars  of  the  most  harrowing  and  desolating  cruelty  have  swept  over  the 
land.  The  recent  fearful  massacres  of  I860  are  an  example.  The  result 
of  these  apparently  and,  no  doubt,  directly  adverse  influences  has  been, 
however,  in  many  cases,  to  gain  a  vantage  ground,  or  secure  an  opportuni- 
ty, for  which  the  missionaries  had,  perhaps,  been  waiting  and  praying  many 
years.  It  is  true,  moreover,  that  but  few  Protestants  were  either  implicated 
or  injured  in  these  frightful  outbursts.  We  quote  again  from  Dr.  Laurie's 
Sketch,  with  reference  to  the  results  of  the  civil  wars  of  1860. 

"  The  direct  results  of  this  war  on  our  operations  were,  doubtless,  injurious. 
Some  stations  were  broken  up  for  a  time.  Many  hearts  were  hardened  by 
suffering,  and  immorality  increased,  through  the  homeless   poverty  of  many 


12 

exposed  to  temptation.  But  the  general  result  shows  much  that  calls  for 
gratitude.  The  power  of  the  clergy  that  martyred  Asaad  el  Shidiak,  and 
formed  the  greatest  hindrance  to  the  progress  of  the  truth,  weakened  by 
previous  wars,  in  this,  received  its  death-blow." 

"  Again,  the  war  brought  missionaries  into  more  extensive  and  favorable  in- 
tercourse with  the  people  than  ever  before.  At  different  times,  as  many  as 
75000  persons,  in  all,  were  fed  daily  from  their  hands.  At  one  time,  2500 
were  fed  in  Beirut  by  native  members  of  our  church  ;  60000  piastres, 
(8"2400)  contributed  in  England  and  America,  were  distributed  every  week 
by  the  missionaries  ;  Dr.  Thomson  having  charge  of  the  clothing,  bedding, 
etc.  ;  Dr.  Van  Dyck  devoting  his  time  to  the  .sick;  and  Mr.  Jessup  dealing 
out  daily  bread  to  the  starving  multitudes.  Besides  all  this  at  Beirut,  Mr. 
Lyons  visited  the  vicinity  of  Baalbec,  on  the  same  errand ;  and  Mr.  Eddy 
ministered  to  the  thousands  who  had  fled  to  Sidon  for  refuge .  Yet,  out  of 
15000  widows  there  were  only  twenty  Protestants.  Such  a  refutation  of 
the  slanders  by  which  the  clergy  had  sought  for  more  than  forty  years  to 
fence  out  the  missionaries  from  the  people,  could  not  but  produce  a  re- 
action in  favor  of  the  truth.  During  some  months  there  was  daily  preach- 
ing at  Beirut." 

In  all  the  trials  of  this  Mission,  though  sickness  and  other  causes  have 
constrained  some  to  return  home,  the  missionaries  generally  have  stood  at 
then*  posts,  and  sought  to  bear  up  the  courage  of  the  churches  on  the  wings 
of  then  own  faith. 

Amid  the  discouragements  of  1841  and  1842,  the  lamented  Dr.  Eli 
Smith,  though  his  mind  was  never  free  from  anxiety  respecting  the  prospects 
of  the  Mission,  yet  pleaded  against  its  being  abandoned  by  the  churches, 
and  was  content  to  do  good  by  piece-meal,  as  opportunity  offered,  assured  that 
all  the  preparatory  labor  then  performed  would  one  day  yield  abundant 
fruit. 

In  1845, the  Mission  wrote:  "Our  history  presents  so  many  instances  of 
most  marked  divine  interposition  in  behalf  of  the  Mission,  that  it  would 
indicate  feeble  faith  indeed  if  we  should  be  greatly  cast  down  by  present 
difficulties."  Again,  in  1861,  while  the  waves  of  the  storm  of  1860  were  still 
raging,  a  beloved  brother  still  at  his  post  wrote :  "  To  the  question — Are  you 
discouraged?  We  answer,  No.  The  walk  of  Jerusalem  were  built  in  troub- 
lous times.  Storm  and  tempest  are  as  needful  as  the  dew  and  sunshine. 
We  may  see  darker  times  than  ever,  and  we  may  see  lighter ;  but  light  or 
dark,  our  duty  is  plain.  We  are  to  hold  on  till  the  divine  Hand  itself 
loosens  our  hold;  we  may  and  ought  to  walk  in  the  light  of  God."  The 
Mission  in  Syria  now  stands  on  higher  vantage-ground  than  ever  before; 
and  those  "  who  are  alive  and  remain  "  there,  now  begin  to  realize  the 
truth,  that  they  who  sow  in  tears  shall  reap  in  joy. 

Another  difficulty  which  makes  the  gaining  and  confirming  of  souls  in  the 
spiritual  life  such  a  laborious,  and  often  discouraging  work,  is  the  unproni- 


13 

ising  and  spiritually  impoverished  character  of  the  material  which  is  availa- 
ble for  missionary  work.  It  is  buried  beneath  the  dust  and  ashes  of  Orien- 
talism, religious  and  social,  as  Pompeii  lay  overwhelmed  by  the  ashes  of 
Vesuvius.  Dig  it  out,  and  strike  it  with  the  Gospel  hammer,  and  it  seems 
often  simply  to  dissolve  into  suffocating  dust.  An  ignorance  of  any  high 
spiritual  experience  in  the  churches  also  tends  to  retard  their  growth,  and 
makes  them  contented  to  live  with  less  of  earnest  aspiration  and  spiritual  de- 
velopment than  should  mark  their  piety.  The  presence  of  the  Spirit  has  V 
never  been  known  in  the  churches  in  any  such  striking  and  generally  preva- 
lent power  as  is  often  known  in  Christian  communities  here.  The  converts 
have  been  almost  entirely  adults,  won  by  the  power  of  the  truth,  convin- 
cing, conquering  and  subduing;  hence,  the  prevailing  type  of  piety  is  intellec- 
tual rather  than  emotional.  The  Syrian  missionary  prays  for  the  mighty 
power  and  influence  of  the  Spirit,  to  give  tenderness  and  love  where  faith 
and  intellectual  convictions  are  often  so  clear  and  simple. 

As  regards  the  special  encouragements  of  the  field,  there  are  some  strong 
points  of  interest.  The  geographical  limits  of  the  field  would  be  a  very  in- 
adequate indication  of  the  actual  and  prospective  sphere  of  the  Mission  in  its 
influence  for  good.  A  far  wider  view  is  the  true  one  to  take.  By  means  of  the 
press,  the  Bible  and  religious  books  have  been  spread  already  over  the  vast  re- 
gions occupied  by  Arabic  speaking  races,  from  Western  Africa  to  India  and 
beyond  it,  and  from  Mosul  and  Mardin  to  Ethiopia  and  Abyssinia.  By 
means  of  the  common  school,  the  normal  school,  the  female  seminary,  the 
college  and  the  theological  seminary,  teachers  and  preachers  are  trained 
and  sent  forth  to  extend  the  blessings  of  the  Gospel,  and  the  advantages  of 
education,  to  many  distant  places.  These  long  hues  of  precious  influence 
and  spiritual  power  are  but  just  beginning  to  be  worked  out  extensively, 
and  they  afford  the  highest  encouragement  for  rapid  expansion  and  early 
results. 

"While  there  are  other  honored  missionaries  who  labor  in  the  Arabic  lan- 
guage, and  so  also  for  their  vast  Arabic  speaking  constituency,  yet  it  would 
not  be  invidious  to  say  that  the  Syria  Mission  enjoys  special  opportunities  to 
carry  on  an  enlarged  and  expansive  work  in  this  direction.  Her  Arabic 
printing  press  is  the  largest  and  most  active  in  the  world,  and  her  means 
and  appliances  for  educating  and  Christianizing  the  Arab  people  are  the  re- 
sult of  many  laborious  years  of  missionary  effort.  Beirut,  with*  Lebanon 
for  her  protector,  feeder,  and  chief  support,  is  rapidly  and  surely  becoming 
the  radiating  centre  of  literary,  scientific  and  religious  light  and  culture  for 
this  people.  The  same  is  true  with  regard  to  the  vigorous  and  growing 
educational  institutions  of  the  Mission.  The  College  also  is  destined  to  oc- 
cupy a  noble  sphere,  and  do  a  grand  work  for  the  race  in  whose  interests, 
for  Christ's  sake,  it  has  been  founded.  A  spacious  and  beautiful  building 
for  the  uses  of  the  institution,  is  now  in  process  of  erection  at  Beirut,  the 
corner-stone  of  which  was  recently  laid  by  an  esteemed  friend  of  the  Mission, 


14 

Hon.  W.  E.  Dodge  of  New  York,  who  was  then  visiting  the  East.     A  build- 
ing for  the  Medical  Department  is  also  in  process  of  erection. 

Another  encouragement  is  to  be  found  in  the  strategic  location  of  the 
Mission.  It  is  in  the  heart  of  the  Mohammedan  world,  and  any  success 
which  the  Gospel  may  achieve  here  will  exert  an  important,  if  not  de- 
cisive influence  in  overthrowing  the  ancient  faith  of  Islam.  But  our 
hope  and  great  encouragement,  after  all,  is  in  God.  He  has  given  us  this 
commanding  position  ;  He  has  blessed  us  with  these  noble  opportunities ; 
He  has  prepared  these  agencies  and  instrumentalities  of  special  value  and 
efficiency,  that  He  may  bless  the  Mission  with  spiritual  power,  and  work 
mightily  through  His  servants,  by  the  energy  of  the  Holy  Ghost,  for  the 
salvation  of  vast  numbers  who  would  otherwise  be  left  to  be  the  prey  of 
Satan  and  the  victims  of  sin. 

n. 

A   STATEMENT    OF   PROGRESS    UP    TO    THE   PRESENT    TIME. 

1.  la  Relatioa  to  Evangelistic  Work. — In  the  prosecution  of  their  work, 
the  Mission  have(  ever  regarded  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  as  the  most  effi- 
cacious instrumentality  for  bringing  the  truth  into  contact  with  the  hearts 
of  the  people,  and  they  have  held  all  other  agencies  as  only  auxiliary  to  this. 

The  acquisition  of  the  language  has,  therefore,  been  the  first  duty  of 
the  new  missionary,  to  the  end  that  he  may  as  soon  as  possible  address  the 
people  in  their  own  tongue.  Every  Sabbath,  and  more  or  less  during  the 
week,  they  are  accustomed  to  preach  in  their  stations  and  out-stations. 
Their  audiences  average  from  50  to  100  hearers,  except  that  the  Beirut  con- 
gregation numbers  nearly  500  souls.  Connected  with  the  Beirut  congrega- 
tion is  an  interesting  sabbath  school,  numbering  350  scholars,  and  also  a  weekly 
Bible  class  for  young  men,  conducted  by  Dr.  Jessup,  numbering  about  80 
regular  attendants.  Sabbath  schools  and  Bible-classes,  not  so  numerously 
attended,  are  in  operation  at  other  localities  in  the  mission  field. 

There  are  three  ordained  native  evangelists  in  the  field.  One  is  a  settled 
pastor,  another  is  a  professor  in  the  Medical  Department  of  the  College,  and 
the  third  is  preaching  as  a  supply,  with  the  expectation  of  soon  becoming  a 
pastor.  \  class  of  five  has  just  graduated  from  the  Theological  Seminary  of 
the  Mission,  and  it  is  the  expectation  that  they  will  become  pastors  also  at 
various  points  in  the  field. 

Besides  these,  there  are  as  many  as  twenty  pious  native  helpers  and 
preachers,  some  of  whom  act  also  as  teachers  in  common  schools,  who 
have  most  of  them  enjoyed  more  or  less  theological  training  in  Abeih  Semi- 
nary, and  who  conduct  religious  services  in  the  various  parts  of  the  field  on 
the  Sabbath,  besides  gathering  the  people  for  religious  conversation  and 
instruction  during  the  evenings  of  the  week;  so  that  it  is  not  too  much  to 


15 

say,  that  by  means  of  the  missionaries  and  the  native  helpers  the  Gospel  is 
preached  statedly  in  as  many  as  thirty  places  in  Syria,  as  far  as  it  constitutes 
a  part  of  their  mission  field,  and  the  regular  attendants  will  number  about 
2500  souls. 

These  native  preachers  and  teachers  command  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  the  Mission,  and  are  a  powerful  auxiliary  to  their  labors.  The  problem 
yet  to  be  solved  is,  how  to  greatly  increase  the  number  of  such  laborers,  so 
as  to  meet  the  pressing  wants  of  the  field ;  duly  to  educate  them,  and  to  in- 
duce the  native  churches  to  assume  their  support. 

Churches. — In  the  northern  field  are  two  churches,  at  Tripoli,  and  at 
Hums.  The  church  members  in  and  around  Beirut  form  a  church  in  that 
city.  In  the  Lebanon  are  two  churches;  one  in  Abeih,  and  the  other  in  Ain 
Zehalta.  In  the  Sidon  field  are  four  churches ;  in  Sidon,  Alma,  Khiyam, 
and  Hasbeiya,  these  various  churches  collect  the  members  from  the  re- 
gions of  which  they  are  the  centres.  The  number  of  church  members  in 
them  all  is  about  320. 

Church  Edifices. — In  the  Tripoli  field  there  are  two  church  edifices,  one 
at  Safeeta,  and  the  other  at  Hums,  both  recently  completed ;  in  Tripoli  a 
room  is  hired  for  an  indefinite  number  of  years  ;  in  other  places  rooms 
are  hired. 

In  the  Beirut  field  there  is  at  Beirut  a  fine  church,  with  tower  and  clock, 
and  one  at  Kefr  Sheema,  recently  dedicated.  Another  preaching  service  has 
recently  been  established  in  Beirut,  which  promises  well  and  may  in  time 
call  for  another  church  edifice  in  that  city. 

In  the  Abeih  field  there  is  a  fine  church  building  in  process  of  erection  at 
Abeih;  an  inferior  one  in  use  at  Ain  Zehalta;  a  new  one  now  completed 
at  Bhamdun;  and  several  rooms  are  hired  and  occupied  for  church  purposes. 

In  the  Sidon  field  there  are  church  buildings  in  Sidon,  Kanah,  Alma, 
Deir  Mimass,  Khiyam,  Ibl,  Rasheiya,  and  Hasbeiya.  The  people  of  Mejdel, 
Jedaide,  and  Jim,  are  also  making  efforts  to  complete  churches  in  their  re- 
spective communities.  For  the  most  part  these  churches  have  been  built 
by  funds  raised  by  the  missionaries  among  friends  of  the  Mission  at  home; 
yet  considering  the  poverty  of  many  of  these  native  communities,  they  have 
themselves  given  largely,  and  made  many  sacrifices  for  the  honor  and  success 
of  the  Gospel. 

Theological  Seminary. — A  Seminary  for  the  training  of  theological  students 
has  been  hi  operation  for  three  years  past.  Formerly  it  was  located  at  Abeih, 
but  it  is  a  distinct  institution  from  what  is  known  in  the  Mission  as  the 
"Abeih  Seminary."  Recently  it  was  removed  to  Beirut.  Its  instructors  are 
Mr.  Calhoun,  in  the  department  of  Exegesis  and  Biblical  Introduction;  Mr. 
Eddy,  in  the  department  of  Systematic  Theology;  Mr.  H.  H.  Jessup,  in  the 
department  of  Church  History  and  Homiletics.     Its  first  graduating  class  of 


16 

five  are  young  men  of  ability  and  zeal ;  it  is  hoped  that  they  will  be  greatly 
useful  as  native  pastors. 

We  close  this  brief  statement  of  evangelistic  progress  with  a  summary  of 
results. 

(1)  Direct  Results. — What  has  been  hitherto  accomplished  seems  small,  if 
estimated  merely  by  the  number  of  churches  formed,  church  members  ad- 
mitted, native  pastors  ordained,  Protestant  communities  enrolled ;  but  in  no 
country  does  this  comprise  the  sum  of  missionary  influence,  and  least  of  all 
would  this  scale  of  reckoning  results  apply  to  Syria. 

These  results  will  not  seem  small,  if  the  difficulties  of  the  field  are  borne 
in  mind,  the  difficulties  of  the  language,  the  small  number  of  laborers,  and 
the  counteracting  influences  from  hostile  organizations,  powerfully  sustained 
by  men  and  means.  Only  God  could  have  wrought  so  much,  through  instru- 
mentalities so  inadequate.  Only  God  could  have  prevented  the  cause 
of  truth  from  being  overborne  by  such  powers  leagued  against  it. 

While  the  number  actually  converted  seems  as  yet  small,  it  is  nevertheless 
true,  that  many  minds  are  enlightened,  and  multitudes  are  Protestant  in 
sentiment  who  will  ere  long  join  the  mission  ranks.  The  children  of  Syria 
will  many  of  them  become  Protestants.  A  prominent  Greek  at  Beirut  re- 
cently said  to  Dr.  Jessup,  "  You  missionaries  need  not  trouble  yourselves 
about  converting  Syria,  our  children  are  all  going  to  be  Protestants;  the 
Bible  will  do  the  work."  The  month  of  December  in  each  year  has  been 
set  apart  by  the  Foreign  Board  as  a  season  of  special  prayer  for  Syria 
among  the  churches.  Hardly  had  the  prayers  of  God's  people  last  Decem- 
ber ascended  before  the  throne,  when  there  was  manifest  in  the  Mission  an 
unusual  spirit  of  inquiry  among  the  natives ;  the  spirit  of  the  Lord  was 
evidently  present ;  the  Word  was  listened  to  with  eagerness  and  solemnity  ; 
large  and  interesting  prayer  meetings  were  held ;  souls  were  converted,  and 
the  churches  edified,  strengthened  and  refreshed.  In  many  years  there  has 
been  no  such  hopeful  and  significant  religious  movement  as  that  which 
blessed  Syria  last  winter.  Let  the  people  of  God,  and  the  Mends  of  Syria, 
pray,  and  the  work  will  go  on  gloriously. 

(2)  Indirect  Results. — These  have  been  among  Mohammedans,  Druzes,  and 
Nominal  Christians. 

To  Protestant  influence,  in  great  part,  may  we  ascribe  the  changed  feeling 
which  has  come  over  the  minds  of  the  Mohammedans  towards  Christians. 
The  Clnistian  religion  has  become  understood  by  them  to  be  not  wholly  the 
system  of  idolatry  which  they  once  regarded  it,  nor  professing  Christians  as 
devoid  of  morality  as  they  once  seemed.  As  a  consequence,  there  has  been 
a  sensible  quenching  of  the  flame  of  Moslem  bigotry,  and  a  greater  respect 
for  Christians,  their  rights,  their  Bible,  and  then*  religion.  The  relative 
positions  of  the  Crescent  and  the  Cross  are  not  what  they  were  when  the 


17 


d 

O 
w. 


> 


18 

missionaries  came  to  Syria.  The  Bible  has  gained  ground,  and  the  Koran 
has  lost  it,  a3  a  controlling  influence  in  the  land.  Some  Mohammedans  are 
among  the  attendants  upon  our  preaching,  and  these  would,  doubtless,  be 
more  numerous,  but  for  the  risk  to  property  and  to  life  which  inquirers 
from  among  them  incur.  A  young  Moslem  in  Sidon  recently  asked  Mr. 
Eddy  if  he  might  come  to  his  (Mr.  Eddy's)  house,  and  learn  arithmetic, 
adding  that  this  would  be  only  an  ostensible  reason,  as  the  truth  was,  he 
had  been  reading  the  New  Testament,  and  wanted  to  know  more  of  our 
religion.  Several  interesting  cases  of  religious  inquiry  among  Moslems  hj,ve 
come  to  the  knowledge  of  the  missionaries  within  a  year  or  two  past. 

The  first  really  satisfactory  convert  from  Mohammedanism  in  the  history 
of  the  S}rria  Mission,  was  admitted  to  the  church  during  the  past  year.  His 
calmness  amidst  persecution,  and  his  heroic  adherence  to  his  Saviour,  in  the 
face  of  threatened  death,  make  one  of  the  most  interesting  and  thrilling 
chapters  in  the  annals  of  our  Mission.  He  was  rescued  by  the  efforts  of 
consuls  and  missionaries  from  the  clutches  of  the  Turkish  Governor  General 
of  Syria,  and  his  right  to  religious  liberty  on  the  basis  of  the  guarantees  of 
1856,  fought  for  and  secured  ;  although  he  was  obliged  subsequently  to 
flee  to  Egypt  to  escape  private  assassination,  as  some  forty  young  Moslems 
in  Beirut  had  sworn  to  kill  him  in  some  way.  But  every  convert  thus  res- 
cued gives  added  dignity  to  the  guarantees  of  religious  liberty,  which  are 
legally  perfect  in  the  Turkish  Empire,  and  tends  to  make  them  more  and 
more  a  recognized  law  of  the  land.  The  time  is  not  far  off  when  religious 
liberty  will  be  a  literal,  as  well  as  a  legal  fact,  throughout  the  Turkish  Em- 
pire. As  yet,  it  needs  to  be  vigorously  contended  for  in  Syria  and  the  re- 
moter provinces,  lest  the  tiger  s])irit  of  Moslem  fanaticism,  which  still  lurks 
in  the  hearts  of  "  the  Faithful  ,"  should  do  its  bloody  work  secretly  in  the 
darkness  of  its  prisons,  and  under  the  protection  of  Turkish  authority. 

Not  without  results,  also,  have  the  children  of  the  Druzes  been  taught  in 
our  schools  during  all  these  years,  and  so  many  conversations  been  held 
with  adults  of  that  sect. 

The  leaven  of  the  Gospel  has  pervaded  even  to  the  secret  inner  sanctu- 
aries of  their  religion,  and  the  white  turbans  of  the  initiated  Druzes  seen  in 
our  Sabbath  congregations,  and  the  inquirers  who  come  to  our  houses,  and 
the  baptized  converts  from  among  then,  show  that  not  in  vain  to  the  Druzes 
has  the  light  of  the  Gospel  again  dawned  upon  Syria.  One  of  the  young 
men  who  graduated  from  the  Theological  Seminary  last  year  is  from  the 
Druze  sect,  and  it  is  hoped  will  do  a  good  work  among  his  people. 

But  principally  among  the  nominal  Christian  sects  have  the  indirect 
results  of  missionary  labor  extended.  These  are  visible  in  the  changed 
power  of  the  clergy.  Once,  excommunication  was  a  terror  above  all  terrors. 
Now,  it  is  so  powerless  a  weapon  that  those  who  once  wielded  it  so  effec- 
tively are  ashamed  to  challenge  ridicule  by  exposing  its  weakness. 

Protestantism,  once  regarded  by  the  mass  of  the  people  as  the  blackest 


19 

of  heresies,  finds  everywhere  its  defenders  and  vindicators,  even  where  it 
lacks  followers,  and  no  longer  can  the  lies,  with  which  the  clergy  were 
accustomed  to  frighten  away  their  flocks  from  contact  with  Gospel  influence, 
gain  currency. 

The  religious  instruction  given  in  their  churches  has  been  modified.  More 
Bible  is  taught,  and  less  tradition.  The  preaching  is  more  of  Christ,  and 
less  of  the  saints.  The  adoration  of  pictures  has  greatly  lessened.  All 
sects  have  been  compelled  to  introduce  schools,  and  to  educate  both  boys 
and  girls ;  to  educate  their  priests,  and  to  modify  the  prohibitions  against 
reading  the  Bible.  At  times,  even  now,  the  fanaticism  of  the  priests  breaks 
forth  in  disgraceful  exhibitions;  as,  recently,  in  Kanah  and  Tyre,  at  the  com- 
mand of  the  Greek  Catholic  clergy,  the  people  burned  their  Bibles.  This 
action,  however,  on  the  part  of  the  priests,  drove  some  of  their  adherents 
into  the  Protestant  ranks,  and  called  forth  bitter  reproaches  from  the  Mos- 
lems, who  denounced  it  as  scandalous  and  shameful. 

The  circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  of  religious  books,  has  been  wide- 
spread, and  we  have  heard  of  some  who  have  been  enlightened  by  these 
silent  teachers,  and  have  through  them  found  Christ  as  their  Saviour,  and 
died  in  joyful  trust  in  Him,  though  they  never  had  an  opportunity  publicly 
to  profess  their  faith  in  Him. 

Among  all  sects— Mohammedan,  I)ruze,  Greek,  Maronite  and  Catholic, 
the  glaciers  of  prejudice,  which  for  centuries  have  been  forming,  are  now 
melting  and  crumbling  under  the  light  and  warmth  of  the  Gospel. 

The  gift  of  the  Bible  to  this  people  in  their  own  tongue  is  the  rich  tribute 
of  gratitude  which  the  West  has  returned  to  the  East,  in  acknowledgment  of 
its  obligation  to  the  land  whence  the  Bible  came  ;  and  the  East,  in  its  turn,  is 
again  paying  tribute  to  the  West,  sending  back  to  the  churches  the  stimulat- 
ing and  precious  tidings  of  the  victories  which  the  Word  of  God  is  winning. 

Not  in  vain  have  Hebard  and  Smith  and  Whiting  and  De  Forest  and 
Eord  sowed  the  seed  of  the  Word  in  tears,  even  though  they  went  home  with 
few  gathered  sheaves.  From  the  heights  of  heaven  they  now  behold  the 
springing  harvest.  Not  in  vain  have  the  Syrian  workers  who  yet  remain, 
toiled,  many  of  them  for  long  years  in  that  arduous  field ;  God  is  giving 
them  abundant  evidences  of  His  favor,  establishing  the  work  of  their  hands 
with  signs  and  wonders  of  His  grace. 

The  churches  in  America  which  have  aided  in  sustaining  the  Mission  by 
their  offerings  and  their  prayers,  have  seen  fewer  results  than  have  crowned 
their  labors  in  other  fields,  and  their  faith  has  been  sorely  tried  :  yet  they  have 
been  permitted  to  hear,  from  time  to  time,  of  souls  ransomed  from  darkness 
and  sin ;  echoes  of  the  songs  of  triumph  sung  by  departing  saints  have 
been  borne  to  their  ears  ;  and  they  have  felt  that  their  labors  have  not  been 
unrewarded. 

And  the  Church  which  now  adopts  the  Mission,  adopts  a  charge  of  peculiar 
difficulty.     This  "  Crown  Jewel  of  Missions,"  as  it  has  more  kindly  than  de- 


20 

servedly  been  called,  needs  years  of  careful  cutting  and  polishing  ere  it  will 
be  -worthy  to  shine  on  the  Saviour's  brow.  Yet,  surely  it  may  be  counted 
a  privilege,  and  none  the  less  so  because  the  campaign  is  prolonged,  and 
costly,  and  difficult,  to  recover  to  its  rightful  Lord  the  land  of  patriarchs  and 
prophets,  of  apostles  and  martyrs  ;  to  restore  primitive  Christianity  to  the 
home  of  its  birth,  after  fourteen  centuries  of  exile. 

To  the  question,  therefore,  Missionaries,  what  have  you  done  in  Syria  ? 
We  answer : 

By  God's  grace,  we  have  laid  anew  the  foundations  of  God's  living  temple, 
Christ  being  the  chief  corner-stone,  and  we  have  seen  some  courses  already 
built  upon  it. 

We  have  set  up  and  maintained  the  banner  of  the  cross  in  the  face  of  its 
pretended  friends  and  its  avowed  foes.  We  have  collected  a  little  army  on 
the  Lord's  side,  and  armed  them  with  the  sword  of  the  Spirit.  We  have 
prepared  an  arsenal  of  spiritual  weapons  for  future  conflicts,  in  the  Scriptures, 
and  other  religious  books,  translated  and  committed  to  the  people.  We 
have  established  outposts  of  schools  and  seminaries,  and  have  raised  strong- 
holds of  the  truth,  in  churches  planted  here  and  there  throughout  the  land. 
We  have  taken  possession  of  the  land  in  the  name  of  King  Immanuel,  and 
we  aim  to  subdue  and  hold  it  wholly  for  Him. 

Under  this  same  general  head  of  a  "  Statement  of  Progress  up  to  the 
Present  Time,"  we  remark  : 

2.  As  to  Educational  Agencies. — The  awakening  mind  of  the  East 
craves  education.  We  make  it  the  hand-maid  of  the  Gospel.  By  it  we  gain 
positions  and  attain  an  influence,  which  we  could  hope  for,  as  Syrian  society, 
is  now  constituted,  in  no  other  way.  '  Through  it  we  have  hundreds  of  chil- 
dred  under  the  most  direct  religious  instruction,  whom  we  could  not  reach  in 
any  other  way.  Our  reading  books  are  made  up  of  Bible  history  and  in- 
cident. Religious  truth  is  also  illustrated  and  enforced.  Much  of  the  New 
Testament  is  committed  to  memory  in  our  schools,  and  the  children  are  all 
carefully  drilled  in  the  catechisms,  and  also  in  books  of  Scripture  history  and 
religious  doctrine.  They  are  also  taught  to  recite  and  sing  many  of  the  best 
hymns  in  our  language,  which  have  been  translated  into  Arabic;  ';  Just  as  I 
am,"  set  to  the  Turkish  national  air,  is  a  great  favorite.  The  music  with 
which  the  Mohammedan  marches  into  battle  has  been  impressed  into  the 
service  of  the  Gospel,  and  as  its  sweet  and  stirring  notes  echo  through  our 
churches,  it  seems  both  a  type  and  a  prophecy  of  happy  aud  glorious  changes 
yet  to  come. 

This  whole  matter  of  Education  in  Syria,  is  so  ably  and  interestingly  pre- 
sented in  a  "  Special  Report  on  Education  in  its  Relations  to  the  Mission 
Work  in  Syria,"  by  Rev.  W.  W.  Eddy,  of  the  Sidon  Station,  that  we  can  do 
nothing  better  than  introduce  it  here  entire,  as  presenting  the  subject  in  all 
its  importance  and  in  its  present  aspects. 


21 

REPORT. 

(See  Foreign  Missionary  for  September,  1871.) 
It  may  be  well  to  define,  in  the  outset,  the  position  of  the  Syria  Mission  in 
regard  to  this  branch  of  benevolent  enterprise.  With  them  education  is  not 
an  end,  only  a  means  to  the  securing  of  an  end.  Their  object  is  the  salvation 
of  souls.  They  regard  education  as  an  important  auxiliary  in  this,  their 
great  work. 

With  this  view,  of  course,  they  have  always  sought  to  combine  religious 
with  secular  instruction  ;  directly,  earnestly,  plainly,  have  they  endeavored 
to  bring  before  their  pupils  the  truths  of  the  Bible. 

Without  stopping  to  consider  the  general  question  of  the  bearings  of  edu- 
cation upon  the  missionary  work,  the  first  topic  proposed  is  : 

I.  Is  there  anything  peculiar  in  the  structure  of  society,  and  habits  prevalent, 
in  Syria,  which  gives  to  education  here  a  sp>ecial  efficacy  as  a  means  to  the  intro- 
duction of  the  Gospel  ? 

The  way  is  not  yet  open  for  bringing  the  Gospel  directly  into  contact  with 
the  masses  of  the  people  by  preaching.  Large  congregations  could  not  be 
gathered  with  facility  in  the  open  air,  as  in  India.  Crowds  of  curious  lis- 
teners do  not  throng  our  churches,  as  those  of  the  missionaries  in  Africa  and 
the  South  Sea  Islands.  Nor  is  the  land,  to  any  great  extent,  a  field  for  col- 
porteur labor.  Work  of  this  kind  is  impracticable  in  many  places,  and  diffi- 
cult in  most.  In  consequence  of  the  variety  of  religious  sects  here,  and  the 
bitterness  of  feeling  between  them,  men  attach  great  value  to  their  religious 
distinctions,  and  are  jealous  of  any  encroachments  upon  them ;  so  that  the 
obstacles  to  direct  attempts  at  proselytizing  are  almost  insurmountable. 
Where  the  work  has  reached  an  advanced  stage,  of  course,  it  is  different, 
but  in  all  new  advances  we  are  very  much  shut  up  to  the  use  of  indirect 
means;  and  of  these,  one  of  the  most  hopeful  is  education. 

This  appears  more  plainly  in  considering  the  obstacles  to  the  Gospel 
among  the  different  religious  sects,  and  how  these  obstacles  are  met  by  this 
means. 

First.  Among  the  Mohammedans. — They  rarely  attend  our  preaching,  rarely 
visit  us  for  religious  conversation.  As  religious  teachers,  we,  therefore,  come 
but  little  into  contact  with  them.  Pride  in  the  superiority  of  their  own  re- 
ligion, contempt  of  Christianity  as  they  understand  it,  and  of  Christians,  as 
being  in  this  land  a  subject  race,  bigotry,  and  fanaticism  wall  them  around  ; 
while  a  persuasion  that  the  Scriptures  have  been  tampered  with,  shuts  their 
hearts  from  the  benefit  of  their  perusal. 

But  Mohammedanism,  as  a  system,  is  vulnerable  through  science.  To  an 
educated  mind  there  are  in  it  puerilities,  absurdities,  glaring  inconsistencies. 
Education  lays  these  bare,  and  thus  prepares  the  way  for  the  consideration 
of  another  faith. 

Contact  with  Moslem  minds,  so  difficult  through  other  means,  is  in  a 


22 

measure  possible  through  education.  Scripture  truth  may  be  inculcated  in 
connection  with  science,  and  this  when  youthful  minds  are  most  susceptible 
to  impressions.  The  Moslem  children  in  our  schools  are,  as  yet,  not  numer- 
ous, but  among  all  the  pupils  none  read  the  Bible  with  such  interest  as  they 
manifest. 

Considering  the  great  importance  of  gaining  a  hold  upon  the  Mohammedan 
mind,  we  are  justified  in  setting  a  high  value  upon  this  almost  sole  means  of 
reaching  them,  especially  when  this  means  is  in  itself  so  hopeful. 

Secondly.  Among  the  Druzes. — These  people  are  eager  to  have  their  children 
taught.  They  prize  education  as  a  means  of  power  and  influence.  They 
despair  of  again  recovering  by  the  sword  the  position  they  once  held  in  society 
by  means  of  it,  and  turn  now  to  education.  They  have  confidence  in  us  as  they 
have  in  no  other  sect,  and  willingly  place  then  children  in  our  hands.  Either 
clanishness,  or  some  peculiar  power  in  a  secret  religion,  bars  their  hearts  to 
the  direct  approaches  of  the  Gospel  ;  but  through  education  a  wide  and  ef- 
fectual door  is  opened  for  access  to  their  minds  and  consciences. 

Thirdly.  Among  the  nominally  Christian  Sects. — Then  state  is  characterized  by 
ignorance  of  the  religion  they  profess,  except  in  its  outward  forms,  ignorance 
of  the  Bible,  and  of  the  history  of  the  Church  ;  while  superstition  and  priest- 
craft have  thus  free  scope  to  mould  the  heart  and  life,  and  ruin  the  soul. 

Enlightenment,  both  in  science  and  in  religion,  the  disinthralment  of  mind 
from  its  bondage,  and  the  revelation  of  truth  in  all  its  aspects,  are  the  indis- 
pensable means  for  rescuing  those  thus  having  a  name  to  live,  while  yet  they 
are  dead.  We  reach  many  of  this  people  directly  by  our  preaching.  We 
reach  more  through  our  schools,  and  some  of  them  we  could  never  reach 
at  all  but  through  this  means. 

In  regard  to  the  Arabic-speaking  races  in  Syria,  it  may  be  affirmed  of 
them,  as  a  whole,  that  they  are  eminently  capable  of  receiving  instruc- 
tion ;  their  minds  are  quick  and  retentive.  Labor  spent  upon  them  is  not 
expended  upon  a  people  fewsin  number,  and  feeble  in  influence.  Syria,  en- 
lightened, is  fitted  by  its  position,  its  language,  and  the  character  of  its  peo- 
ple, to  become  the  teacher  of  vast  numbers  of  the  human  race. 

II.    What  lias  already  been  done  here  in  the  way  of  Education. 
(1.)  By  the  American  Board. 

(a)  Common  Schools. — When  the  missionaries  of  the  Board  arrived  here, 
more  than  forty  years  ago,  there  was  almost  a  total  dearth  of  books  and  of 
readers.  Great  obstacles  had  to  be  surmounted  in  order  to  the  introduction 
of  a  few  schools  into  the  land.  At  first,  only  reading  and  writing  were 
taught,  as  there  was  little  demand  for  more  than  these,  and  teachers  capa- 
ble of  teaching  higher  branches,  were  wanting. 

These  schools  were  commenced  in  Beirut,  then  pushed  into  the  adjacent 
portions  of  Mt.  Lebanon,  then  into  other  cities  of  the  coast,  and  of  the  inte- 


23 

rior,  and  they  have  raised  up  a  great  body  of  readers,  capable  of  perusing 
and  understanding  the  Word  of  God.  They  have  stimulated  other  sects  to 
open  schools  in  rivalry,  have  awakened  a  desire  for  learning,  have  caused  a 
demand  for  books  of  all  kinds,  and  for  newspapers  and  magazines,  and  for 
higher  schools  and  seminaries  of  learning.  Many  educated  in  these  schools 
have  been  converted,  have  become  members  of  our  churches,  teachers  in  other 
schools,  preachers  to  their  countrymen. 

Around  these  schools  have  clustered  Protestant  communities.  Their 
influence  has  pervaded  all  other  sects,  and  raised  the  standard  of  knowledge 
in  all. 

Without  them,  it  is  hard  to  conceive  how  Protestantism  could  have  gain- 
ed an  entrance  into  many  parts  of  the  land.  With  them,  it  has  gained  a  strong 
hold  upon  the  reason  and  conscience  of  a  great  number  of  the  inhabitants 
of  Syria. 

All  honour,  therefore,  to  the  common  schools,  which  have  been  for  so  many 
years  a  source  of  blessing  to  the  people  of  this  land !  Honour  to  those  who 
established  them,  to  those  who  supported  them,  and  those  who  have  taught 
in  them ! 

(b)  The  Abeih  Seminary. — The  institution  now  bearing  this  title  was  first 
established  in  Beirut.  It  was  intended  for  the  raising  up  of  teachers  and 
preachers,  and  has  occupied  a  large  place  in  the  interest  and  care  of  the 
Mission.  For  a  time  no  small  amount  of  the  strength  of  the  Mission  was 
expended  upon  it ;  its  standard  of  education  was  very  high,  and  its  gradu- 
ates were  among  the  most  highly  educated  scholars  in  the  land. 

For  various  reasons  the  standard  of  education  was  gradually  lowered  ; 
and  prominent  among  these  reasons  was  the  fact  that  the  Mission  failed  to 
secure  the  object  originally  aimed  at,  to  raise  up,  by  its  means,  pastors  for 
the  native  churches,  the  young  men  turning  aside  to  other  pursuits;  and 
more  latterly,  the  establishment  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  has  render- 
ed unneccessary  the  teaching  here  of  the  higher  branches  of  knowledge. 

Most  of  the  teachers  of  our  schools,  and  religious  instructors  in  the  vari- 
ous congregations,  are  graduates  of  this  institution. 

The  study  of  the  Scriptures  has  been  a  prominent  object  in  the  conduct  of 
the  Seminary,  and  this  branch  of  study  has  always  been  conducted  by  a 
member  of  the  Mission,  and  remains  so  until  this  day. 

Until  within  a  short  time,  a  part  of  the  instruction,  literary  as  well  as  re- 
ligious, was  given  by  a  missionary,  and  the  government  was  administered  by 
him  ;  but  of  late  other  duties  have  devolved  upon  this  missionary  [Rev.  S. 
H.  Calhoun],  and  he  has  been  obliged  to  entrust  the  literary  instructions 
and  the  government  into  the  hands  of  native  teachers,  retaining,  however,  a 
general  superintendence  over  the  wThole,  and  giving  daily  religious  instruc- 
tion, as  heretofore. 

The  applicants  for  free  admission  far  exceed  the  number  which  the  means 
at  the  disposal  of  the  institution  allows  it  to  receive.  Several  of  the  pupils 
pay  a  moderate  sum  for  their  expenses. 


24 

(c)  T)ie  Syrian  Protestant  College. — This  is  an  outgrowth  of  missionary 
labor  in  Syria.  Missionary  instruction  created  a  demand  for  it.  The  plans 
and  prayers  and  labors  of  missionaries  established  it.  The  friends  of  mis- 
sions endowed  it.  Its  aim,  and  that  of  other  missionary  labor,  are  one — the 
enlightinent  and  salvation  of  the  Arabic  speaking  race 

This  institution  is  still  in  its  infancy,  but  its  influence  is  already  widely  felt, 
in  creating  a  demand  for  general  education,  in  raising  the  standard  of 
thought,  and  in  stimulating  other  sects  to  enlarge  and  elevate  their  schools 
of  learning.  It  has  sent  forth  two  classes  of  graduates,  most  of  whom  are 
now  actively  employed  in  the  service  of  the  Mission- 
It  commands  the  confidence  of  the  missionaries,  and  has  their  best  wish- 
es, their  prayers,  and  their  efforts,  for  its  success.  The  Medical  Department 
of  the  College  is  an  able  auxiliary  to  the  missionary  work,  and  its  manifest 
benefits,  through  its  clinique  and  hospital  practice,  are  a  powerful  argument 
in  favor  of  the  religious  system  which  sustains  it. 

(d)  Female  Education. — When  the  missionaries  came  to  Syria  it  was  an  al- 
most unheard-of  thing  for  a  woman  to  read  and  write.  It  was  argued  that 
to  teach  her  would  tend  to  the  disruption  of  society,  to  the  disorganization 
of  society,  to  the  unsexing  of  woman. 

For  a  number  of  years,  girls  were  adopted  into  the  families  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, and  there  trained  and  educated.  Gradually  they  have  entered  the 
common  schools  and  studied  with  the  boys,  yet  they  still  constitute  but  a 
small  minority  of  the  pupils.  In  some  places  day  schools  have  been  opened 
expressly  for  them,  taught  by  female  teachers,  and  these  have  been  well  at- 
tended. 

For  many  years  the  Mission  have  sustained  in  Beirut  a  Female  Boarding 
School,  to  which  much  labor  and  expense  have  been  devoted.  At  one  time 
a  missionary  and  his  family  were  detailed  to  its  care,  then  it  was  given  in 
charge  to  young  ladies  from  America.  The  experiment  of  conducting  it  by 
means  of  native  teachers  was  tried,  and  for  five  years  proved  successful,  but 
circumstances  have  combined  to  render  a  return  to  the  previous  plan  a  ne- 
cessity, and  it  is  now  under  the  care  of  American  ladies,  with  the  best  na- 
tive assistants. 

Changes  have  been  made  in  it,  of  late,  to  suit  the  advanced  stage  of  civi 
lization  and   education  in  Beirut,  introducing  the  study  of  European  lan- 
guages, and  the  practice  of  instrumental  music  ;  also,  in  giving  it  a  perma- 
nent home  in  buildings  erected  expressly  for  its  accommodatian,  and  in  en- 
deavoring to  make  it  self-supporting. 

This  institution  stands  high  in  the  regard  of  the  community  and  the  Mis- 
sion, and  is  a  powerful  auxiliary  to  the  missionary  work. 

[The  support  of  the  Beirut  Female  Seminary  has  been  wholly  assumed 
by  the  "Ladies'  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,"  New 
York.] 

The  mission  has  sustained  for  about  eight  years  another  Female  Boarding 
School  in  Sidon. 


25 

This  is  intended  to  meet  the  wants  of  the  people  who  do  not  come  into 
contact  with  European  tastes  and  refinement.  It  is  supported  by  the  funds 
of  the  Mission,  except  that  the  salary  of  the  principal  teacher,  Miss  Jacombs, 
an  English  lady,  is  paid  by  a  society  of  ladies  in  England. 

This  school  is  purely  a  missionary  institution.  Its  plan  is  to  teach  only 
girls  from  Protestant  families,  the  best  pupils  of  the  common  schools,  with  a 
view  to  their  being  directly  useful  hereafter  as  teachers  and  helpers  in  the 
missionary  work. 

Ail  the  stations  have  a  right  to  send  pupils,  and  of  those  now  in  atten- 
dance some  have  come  from  the  extreme  borders  of  the  field.  Being  purely 
a  mission  school  and  its  pupils  Protestants,  there  is  here  the  best  opportuni- 
ty for  thorough  religious  instruction  in  connection  with  mental  and  social  cul- 
ture, and  its  success  realizes  fully  the  expectations  of  its  friends.  Like  the 
Mt.  Holyoke  Seminary  in  America,  the  household  labor  all  devolves  upon  the 
puj)ils.  The  Beirut  and  Sidon  schools  for  girls  have  both  their  spheres  ; 
neither  interferes,  nor  renders  the  other  unnecessary. 

[The  support  of  the  Sidon  Female  Seminary  has  been  wholly  assumed 
by  the  "  Woman's  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the  Presbyterian  Church," 
Philadelphia.] 

This  outline  comprises  most  of  what  has  been  done  by  the  American 
Board  in  behalf  of  education  in  Syria.  To  it  maybe  added,  of  general  work, 
the  preparing  and  publishing  of  reading  books  and  primers;  of  two  arithme- 
tics, of  lowTer  and  higher  grades;  of  two  geographies,  a  grammar,  a  work  on 
logic,  and  another  on  rhetoric,  an  algebra  and  geometry ;  and  the  preparing 
of  manuscript  works  in  natural  philosophy  and  astronomy.  Recently,  in 
connection  with  the  College,  works  on  physiology,  botany,  chemistry  and 
natural  history  have  been  published.  A  monthly  religious  paper  has  also 
been  issued  from  our  press  for  about  four  years  past.  [Recently  changed  to 
a  weekly.] 

(2.)  By  other  Protestant  Agencies. 

Other  Protestant  agencies  during  late  years,  have  co-operated  with  the 
American  missionaries  in  their  educational  efforts.  Most  of  these  have  been 
enlisted,  however,  in  behalf  of  females. 

Mrs.  Watson,  an  English  lady,  opened  a  school  for  girls  in  Beirut  in  1856 
which  has  since  been  transferred  to  Mt.  Lehanon. 

Mrs.  Bowen  Thompson  opened  schools  in  Beirut  in  1861.  These  are  still 
continued,  and  have  been  extended  to  four  places  in  Mt.  Lebanon,  to  Dam- 
ascus, and  to  Hasbeiya. 

Miss  Hicks  and  Miss  Dobby,  young  ladies  sent  out  by  a  Woman's  Society 
in  England,  have  a  school  for  girls  at  Shimlan  on  Mt.  Lebanon. 

Mr.  Elias  Suleiby,  aided  by  friends  in  Scotland,  mostly  in  connection  with 
the  Free  Church,  has,  for  ten  or  twelve  years  past,  conducted  schools  in  a 
part  of  Mt.  Lebanon,  and  also,  latterly,  in  the  Buka'a. 


26 

The  Established  Church  of  Scotland  has  a  school  for  Jews  in  Beirut,  con- 
ducted by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Robertson. 

The  Prussian  Deaconesses,  in  1801,  established  an  institution  in  Beirut, 
partly  for  orphans,  and  partly  for  paying  pupils. 

Mr.  Butrus  Bistany,  a  native  Protestant  of  Beirut,  has,  for  about  six  years 
past,  conducted  a  flourishing  school  for  boys  in  that  city. 

In  the  same  place,  Miss  Taylor,  of  England,  has  also  conducted,  for  the 
past  two  years,  a  day  school  for  Moslem  girls. 

This  comprises  mainly  what  has  been  done  within  the  limits  of  our  field 
in  Syria,  in  behalf  of  education. 

ITT.  Has  not  the  work  of  Education  been  brought  so  far  forwardby  the  Mission, 
or  have  not  other  agencies  arisen  so  capable  of  carrying  it  on,  that  the  Mission  can 
now  with  propriety  withdraw  from  it  and  engage  in  other  work  ? 

To  this  question  it  may  be  replied  briefly  — 

The  Mission  would  find  it  difficult  to  act  in  many  places,  but  thiough 
schools.  Long  as  the  Gospel  has  been  preached  in  Syria,  there  are  still 
extensive  districts  in  mountain  and  plain,  where  prejudice  and  the  power 
of  the  clergy  have  kept  out  the  light.  New  fields  are,  therefore,  constantly 
to  be  occupied — schools  are  the  entering  wedges.  They  furnish  ai.  occasion 
for  the  presence  of  a  missionary,  and  give  an  opportunity  for  the  exerting  of 
influence.  The  school  teacher  by  day,  becomes  a  preacher  for  aaults  in  the 
evening,  and  on  the  Sabbaths,  and  the  school-rooms  are  thus  the  nuclei  of 
churches. 

Again,  the  Mission  and  all  other  agencies  combined,  fail  now  to  meet  the 
wants  of  the  field.  The  demand  for  schools  and  teachers  is  greater  than 
the  supply.  How  would  it  be  if  the  larger  source  of  supply  should  be 
withdrawn  ? 

Again,  these  other  agencies  act  only  at  or  near  certain  centres.  The  area 
of  their  influence  is  limited,  reaching  but  little  beyond  Beirut  and  a  part  of 
Mt.  Lebanon.  The  mission  schools  are  extended  widely  through  our  whole 
field —  north,  south,  east  and  west.  To  leave  these  other  agencies  to  act 
alone,  would  be  to  leave  the  greater  part  of  the  hind  without  schools. 

And,  moreover,  it  would  be  impossible  for  those  not  engaged  in  the  miss- 
ionary work  to  make  their  schools  as  directly  auxiliary  to  the  work  of  the 
Gospel,  as  would  the  Mission,  whose  aim  in  conducting  these  schools  is  to 
further  their  plans  in  raising  up  self-supporting  Christian  churches  and 
communities. 

For  these  reasons,  as  well  as  others,  the  Mission  would  find  itself  crippled, 
thwarted,  embarrassed,  in  its  action,  if  it  was  compelled  to  give  up  the  work 
of  education,  and  to  leave  it  to  others.  Much  of  it  would  certainly  be  left 
undone,  as  there  are  not  agencies  on  hand  prepared  to  assume  it,  and  the 
cause  of  Christ  would  inevitably  suffer. 


27 

IV.  If  the  Mission  continue  the  work  of  Education  can  they  properly  continue  it 
on  the  same  system  and  the  same  scale  as  they  have  done  heretofore? 

Unquestionably  the  answer  to  this  must  be  in  the  negative. 

First.  In  regard  to  common  schools. — There  is  a  demand  for  a  large  increase 
in  their  number,  particularly  among  the  Druzes.  We  could  properly  occupy 
many  additional  fields  of  much  promise,  had  we  the  means.  Appeals  from 
various  quarters  have  come  to  us  which  we  have  been  compelled  to  re- 
fuse. 

There  is  also  a  demand  for  the  elevation  of  the  standard  of  many  of  these 
schools.  That  which  met  the  wants  of  the  field  twenty  years  ago,  does  not 
meet  it  now.  Syria  has  made  vast  strides  forward  within  a  few  years,  and 
our  common  school  system  should  move  forward  in  correspondence. 

It  is  time  to  commence  a  revision  of  the  whole  plan  of  these  schools ;  to 
remodel  them,  as  far  as  possible,  according  to  modern  ideas;  to  introduce  a 
uniform  programme  of  studies ;  to  employ  as  a  whole  a  higher  grade  ot 
teachers,  with  new  checks  and  responsibilities.  Thus  increased  in  number, 
and  newly  organized,  their  power  might  be  augmented  many  fold,  as  an 
agency  in  restoring  to  Syria  a  true  Christianity. 

There  might  with  advantage  be  added  to  the  mission  force  a  superintend- 
ent of  common  schools,  able  properly  to  visit  and  regulate  them  in  the 
length  and  breadth  of  the  land. 

Secondly.  In  regard  to  Abeih  Seminary. — The  Mission  need  for  the  conduct 
of  their  schools  a  greater  number  of  teachers  than  they  can  reasonably  ex- 
pect to  obtain  from  among  the  graduates  of  the  College.  Not  all  of  these 
schools  require  teachers  of  so  high  a  grade.  It  is  not  enough  that  these 
teachers  should  be  apt  scholars :  they  need  also  to  be  made  apt  teachers.  A 
system  should  be  adopted  here,  corresponding  to  that  of  the  Normal  Train- 
ing schools  in  other  countries,  so  that  the  graduates  may  carry  into  effect  in 
the  common  schools  what  they  have  learned,  and  thus  give  them  new  life  and 
efficacy. 

This  involves,  besides  the  training  of  the  regular  pupils  in  the  best  modes 
of  imparting  knowledge,  the  assembling  in  Abeih,  for  two  or  three  months 
in  the  year,  of  the  teachers  already  engaged  in  teaching,  and  the  drilling 
of  them  with  a  special  course  of  training  in  the  art  of  instruction. 

These  educational  institutions,  combined  with  our  printing-press  and  our 
native  agency,  are  the  channels  through  which  your  missionaries  can  bring 
light  and  blessing  to  the  people.  They  are  the  complement  of  our  force — 
our  machinery.  They  bring  to  our  hands  the  material  upon  which  we  are 
to  work,  and  help  us  to  mould  it. 

We  can,  therefore,  cordially  commend  the  work  of  Education  in  Syria  to 
the  prayers  and  sympathies  of  the  friends  of  Christ  at  home,  as  being  one 
of  the  means  of  undermining  the  fortress  of  error  here,  and  establishing  the 
truth ;  and  if  they  desire  to  give  new  impulse  to  this  work,  and  to  push  it 


28 

forward  with  greater  vigor,  they  will  find  us  prepared  to  second  their  efforts 
heartily,  hopefully,  and  vigorously,  being  assured  that  thus  the  day  of 
Christ's  triumph  will  be  brought  nearer — the  hour  of  Syria's  redemption 
will  be  hastened. 


The  above  report  seems  exhaustive  on  this  subject.  It  maybe  noted,  how- 
ever, that  the  number  of  common  schools  now  in  operation  under  mission 
auspices  is  about  fifty  ;  many  of  them  are  large  and  flourishing  ;  the  attend- 
ance in  some  ranging  as  high  as  a  hundred. 

Again,  under  the  same  general  head  of  a  "  Statement  of  Progress  up  to 
the  Present  Time,"  we  mention  also  : 

3.  Press-work. — Through  the  scholarly  labors  of  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  and  Dr. 
Van  Dyck,  we  have  one  of  the  most  accurate  and  beautiful  translations  of 
the  Scriptures  to  be  found  in  any  language,  and  many  thousand  copies  in 
some  six  or  eight  different  styles  have  been  issued.  Several  editions  are 
now  electrotyped.  The  voweled  edition  of  the  entire  Bible,  just  issued,  is 
regarded  as  the  finest  book  in  the  Arabic  language,  and  the  Scriptures  can 
now  be  given  to  the  Mohammedan  world  free  from  a  favorite  objection, 
namely,  that  they  were  unvoweled,  and,  consequently,  incomplete.  Some 
sixty  works  of  a  religious  and  educational  character  have  been  published. 
Text  books  for  the  College  are  either  already  issued,  or  well  advanced  in 
preparation,  by  the  Professors  in  then-  various  departments.  The  Theologi- 
cal Professors  are  also  preparing  text-books. 

A  weekly  religious  newspaper  is  issued,  which  has  its  regular  roll  list  of 
over  a  thousand  subscribers. 

A  monthly  illustrated  paper,  specially  for  the  children,  has  just  been  com- 
menced. In  reference  to  this  new  enterprise  of  a  children's  paper,  the  Annual 
Report  of  the  Mission  for  the  past  year  remarks  :  "  It  was  once  thought  an 
impossibility  to  bend  the  stiffness  of  written  Arabic  so  as  to  adapt  it  for  a 
newspaper,  even  for  adults,  without  shocking  the  tastes  of  all  Arabic  scholars, 
but  the  contact  of  the  West  with  the  East  has  so  changed  ideas  and  render- 
ed plastic  old  incrustations,  that  no  one's  prejudices  are  shocked,  while  the 
stately  Arabic  has  been  made  to  bend  to  a  child's  comprehension  in  a  child's 
newspaper.  The  secular  newspapers  of  Beirut  have  done  much  to  under- 
mine the  pedantry  of  Arabic  literature,  and  to  prepare  the  people  to  accept 
a  written  language  somewhat  conformable  to  the  spoken  tongue."  An  ad- 
ditional building  for  the  uses  of  the  press  has  just  been  erected.  It  is  a 
handsome  structure,  standing  side  by  side  with  the  mission  church,  with 
which,  in  external  aspect  and  beauty  of  design,  it  is  fully  in  keeping.  It 
is  to  be  used  also  as  a  Bible  House,  and  contains  besides  a  large  room  which 
can  be  used  as  a  lecture-room  to  the  church. 

A  bindery  and  a  lithographic  press  have  been  recently  added  to  the  press 
establishment.      A  new  Adams  Steam  Press  will  soon  be  on  its  way  to  Syria 


29 

to  supplement  the  two  (one  an  "  Adams,"  and  the  other  a  "  Hoe,")  which 
are  now  well  worn  b}^  long  service.  The  printing  which  is  done  at  the  mis- 
sion press  is  universally  regarded  as  the  most  elegant  and  tasteful  specimen 
of  Arabic  typography  to  be  found  in  the  world  A  few  years  ago,  Dr.  Van 
Dyck  superintended  the  preparation  of  an  entirely  new  font  of  type,  which, 
in  neatness,  clearness,  and  beauty  of  style,  was  a  great  improvement  upon 
all  other  kinds.  The  great  printing  presses  of  Germany,  recognizing  its  su- 
perior excellence,  have  recently  thrown  aside  the  old  fonts  of  Arabic  type 
whi  h  they  have  been  accustomed  to  use,  and  have  sent  to  Beirut  for  ma- 
trices of  the  new  type.  The  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  have  also 
adopted  it. 

Dr.  Van  Dyck  fills  the  position  of  Editor  and  Literary  Superintendent  of 
"  The  Press,"  while  the  business-management  is  under  the  superintendence 
of  Mr.  Samuel  Hallock,  whose  efficient  services  are  highly  valued  by  the 
Mission. 

As  a  summary  of  what  has  been  done  through  the  press  by  the  American 
Missionaries,  it  may  be  stated  : 

1.  They  have  translated  the  entire  Bible,  and  it  is  now  issued  in  many 
editions,  either  complete  or  in  parts.  An  edition  of  the  Gospels  in  raised 
Arabic  characters,  is  also  issued  for  the  blind,  at  the  expense  of  Mr.  Mott, 
a  benevolent  English  gentleman. 

2.  They  have  .prepared  and  published  some  sixty  works  both  religious 
and  educational  in  their  character. 

3.  They  edit  and  publish  a  weekly  religious  journal,  which  has  a  large 
and  constantly  increasing  subscription  roll  throughout  Syria  and  Egypt,  also 
a  children's  monthly. 

Among  the  religious  works  already  issued  from  the  Syria  Mission  press 
in  Beirut,  are  the  following  ;  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  Edwards'  His- 
tory of  Redemption,  Nevins  on  Popery,  Bird's  Letters  on  Romanism, 
Alexander's  Evidences  of  Christianity,  Guide  to  Scripture  Study,  (648  pp.,) 
Office  and  Work  of  the  Holy  Spirit,  Hymn  Book,  (200  pp.,)  Book  of  Social 
and  Family  Prayer,  Imitation  of  Christ,  Religious  Story  Book  for  Child- 
ren, (Illustrated,)  Bogatzky's  Golden  Treasury,  Newman  Hall's  Tracts, 
Catechisms  large,  and  small,  and  with  proofs,  several  Scripture  Question 
books,  and  many  pamphlets,  sermons,  tracts,  etc.  There  are  now  in  manu- 
script, ready  for  the  press ;  A  Concordance  of  the  Bible,  Mosheim's  Church 
History,  Harmony  of  the  Gospels,  with  notes  by  Rev.  Mr.  Calhoun. 

Two  native  converts  of  the  Syria  Mission,  Drs.  Meshakah  and  "Worta- 
bet,  have  also  written  able  works  which  have  been  published. 

In  course  of  preparation  is  a  Dictionary  of  the  Bible,  also  a  work  on 
Systematic  Theology,  and  Commentaries  on  the  Pentateuch  and  Gospels. 

Among  the  educational  works  issued  at  the  mission  press,  though  not 
always  at  mission  expense,  may  be  mentioned  ;  a  Geometry  and  Trigon- 
ometry,   an    Algebra,     Arithmetics,     Geographies,     Grammars,     Reading 


30 

Books  of  higher  and  lower  grade,  a  work  on  Logic,  another  on  Rhetoric, 
also  one  on  Natural  History,  some  medical  works  on  Anatomy,  Physio- 
logy and  Hygiene,  a  Chemistry,  a  Botany,  and  an  Atlas  of  the  World. 
In  manuscript  are  a  Natural  Philosophy,  an  Astronomy,  and  a  work  on 
Moral  Science. 

A  learned  native  convert,  Mr,  Bistany,  is  the  author  of  a  magnificent 
Dictionary  of  the  Arabic  Language  in  2  vols.  1200  pp.,  he  is  also  editor  of 
a  semi-weekly  newspaper,  and  a  semi-monthly  magazine,  devoted  to  science, 
literature,  politics  and  general  information.  Both  are  published  at  Beirut, 
and  circulate  largely  throughout  the  Orient. 

The  church  at  home  cannot  fully  estimate  the  labors  of  her  missionaries 
in  this  most  important  department,  the  preparation  of  a  religious  and  edu- 
cational literature.  Several  of  the  most  important  educational  works  men- 
tioned above  have  been  recently  prepared  by  Professors  in  the  Syrian 
Protestant  College  at  Beirut,  Drs.  Bliss,  Van  Dyck,  Post  and  Wortabet. 

in. 

A  GLANCE  AT  THE  PRESENT  WORKING  CONDITION  AND  FUTURE  PROSPECTS  OF  THE 
MISSION. 

Much  has  been  said  which  anticipates  what  might  properly  be  said  under 
this  head,  and,  not  to  prolong  this  sketch  unduly,  we  will  not  enlarge  upon 
what  is  already  found  in  these  pages.  The  list  of  missionaries  at  present 
(March,  1872)  connected  with  the  Mission  and  their  respective  location  is  as 
follows  : 

Beirut  :  Rev.  Messrs.  Wm.  M.  Thomson,  D.D.,  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck,  M.D., 
D.D.,  Henry  H.  Jessup,  D.D.,  and  their  wives,  Miss  Eliza  D.  Everett,  Miss 
Ellen  Jackson  and  Miss  Sophie  B.  Loring,  Mr.  Samuel  Hallock,  Sup't.  of 
Press. 

Tripoli  :  Rev.  Samuel  Jessup  and  his  wife,  Rev.  Oscar  J.  Hardin,  G.  B. 
Danforth,  M.  D.,  and  his  wife. 

Abejh  :  Rev.  Messrs.  S.  H.  Calhoun  and  Wm.  Bird,  and  their  wives. 

Sidon  :  Rev.  Messrs.  Wm.  W.  Eddy  and  Frank  A.  Wood,  and  their  wives, 
Rev.  James  S.  Dennis.  Supported  by  a  Woman's  Society  of  the  English 
Church,  and  having  the  charge  of  Sidon  Female  Seminary,  Miss  Jacombs, 
and  Miss  Stainton. 

Under  appointment  for  Syria,  and  expecting  soon  to  sail,  Messrs.  W.  J. 
Cumming  and  Gerald  F.  Dale,  Jr. 


The  foDowing  compose  the  Faculty  of  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  at 
Beirut,  including  the  Faculty  of  the  Medical  Department ;  Rev.  Daniel  Bliss, 
D.D.,  President,  Rev.  C.  V.  A.  Van  I  >vck,  M.l). ,  I ).]>..  Rev.  Geo.  E.  Post, 
M.D.,  Rev.  D.  Stuart  Dodge,  M.A.,  Rev.  John  Wortabet,  M.D.,  Rev. 
Edwin  R.  Lewis,  M.D.,  Harvey  Porter,  B.A.,  with  a  corps  of  six  native 
tutors. 


31 

Concluding  Remarks. 

A  glance  at  the  future  of  the  mission  work  in  Syria  suggests  expansion, 
growth,  progress. 

We  have  hitherto  occupied  four  principal  stations.  We  must  now  enlarge 
the  circle  of  our  operations  and  make  another,  which  will  be  at  Zahley,  a 
laro-e  town  of  10,000  inhabitants,  on  the  eastern  base  of  the  Lebanons,  over- 
looking  the  plain  of  Coele-Syria,  or  the  Buka'a,  which,  with  its  many  and 
populous  villages,  is  to  be  the  outlying  field  of  the  Zahley  station. 

We  have  a  great  work  opening  for  us  among  the  Druzes,  who  are  friendly 
and  confiding.  They  regard  themselves  as  under  the  political  protection  of 
England,  and  should  political  complications  at  any  time  lead  them  to  a  nom- 
inal profession  of  Protestantism,  our  opportunity  would  be  most  favorable. 
New  missionaries  should  be  in  the  field  studying  the  language  and  prepar- 
ing to  enter  upon  this  special  work  with  the  Druzes. 

The  Mission  have  another  work  in  view,  for  which  they  desire  to  be  ever- 
in  readiness,  so  as  to  take  advantage  of  any  providential  openings  in  its 
favor,  and  that  is  the  evangelization  of  the  Bedouins  of  the  desert.  Their 
language  is  the  Arabic,  and,  of  course,  they  are  to  be  reached  by  those 
speaking  that  tongue.  They  are  professedly  Mohammedans,  and  yet  few 
of  them  know  anything  of  their  religion,  being  unable  to  read  the  Koran, 
and  rarely  hearing  respecting  its  teachings  from  one  who  understands  it. 
They  are  as  nearly  without  a  religious  faith  as  a  people  can  be,  and  yet  profess 
one.  Their  wandering  life,  and  the  insecurity  among  them  of  person  and 
of  property,  make  their  instruction  in  the  Gospel  especially  difficult.  But 
Christ's  command  extends  to  even  these,  and  the  difficulties  in  the  way  of 
reaching  them  with  the  truth  are  not  insurmountable.  The  points  of  con 
tact  between  the  Bedouins  and  the  Mission,  are  Hums  in  the  Tripoli  field,  and 
the  neighborhood  of  Banias  in  the  Sidon  field.  The  course  to  be  pursued 
for  their  evangelization  is  to  send  among  them  colporteurs,  men  of  wisdom 
and  experience  as  well  as  piety,  carrying  with  them  simple  remedies  for 
bodily  diseases,  and  aiming  to  heal  the  deeper  maladies  of  the  soul.  As 
fast  as  such  men  offer  themselves,  they  should  be  commissioned  and  sent 
forth  at  once  into  this  field,  so  vast,  so  difficult,  so  neglected,  so  loudly  ap- 
pealing to  the  sympathies  of  all  who  love  Christ  and  weep  for  souls  perish- 
ing in  darkness. 

To  man  and  sustain  this  enlarged  work ;  to  guide  and  minister  to  the 
awakening  mind  of  Syria,  already  aroused  and  invigorated  by  academic  cul- 
ture, and  give  it  the  balance  of  a  strong  evangelical  bias  ;  to  counteract  the 
heinous  deceptions  and  vile  chicanery  of  Jesuitism  ;  to  deal  wisely  and  firmly 
with  Moslem  bigotry  ;  to  lend  a  helping  hand  to  the  persecuted  ;  to  preach 
the  simple,  living  Gospel ;  to  build  up  a  spiritual,  self  supporting,  witnessing 
church ;  to  train  a  native  agency  of  pastors  and  teachers ;  to  bring  Chris- 
tianity to  bear  upon  the  scandalous  and  pitiful  social  degeneracy  of  the 
East ;  this  is  the  task  which,  with  its  appalling  responsibilities,  confronts  a 


32 

feeble  band  of  missionaries  in  Syria.  Verily  !  if  the  Spirit  of  God  be 
withheld,  our  task  is  a  hopeless  one. 

As  the  future  of  this  great  work  looms  np  before  us,  the  conviction  grows 
stronger  and  more  solemn  that  the  great  need  of  Syria  is  that  which  no 
human  wisdom  can  supply.  It  can  be  met  by  no  now  combination  of  forces  at 
home  or  on  the  field,  by  no  complication  of  the  machinery  of  missions,  nor 
by  indefinite  enlargement.  It  is  the  want  of  the  influences  of  the  Holy  Spirit. 
The  Syria  of  the  present  age  has  never  witnessed  the  mighty  manifestations 
of  His  presence.  Nothing  is  known  there  of  His  power  to  change  the  whole 
aspect  of  society,  and  to  pervade  all  hearts  with  a  sense  of  the  coming 
Judgment.  There  are  no  histories  nor  memories  of  such  a  work  to  which 
we  can  refer. 

Nothing  but  a  great  revival,  upheaving  the  deep  foundations  of  society, 
and  drawing  men  wholly  away  from  their  old  refuges  of  lies,  can  avail  to 
fuse  into  one  mass  elements  so  wholly  at  variance  with  one  another,  and  to 
bring  all  into  subjection  to  Christ. 

Therefore,  we  would  say  to  all  who  love  Syria  and  wait  for  its  redemp- 
tion, withhold  what  you  will,  but  withheld  not  your  prayers  ;  nay,  rather 
besiege  the  throne  of  grace  unceasingly  for  a  return  of  the  Holy  Spirit  to  a 
land  from  which  He  has  so  long  been  grieved  away.  We  would  name 
especially  these  petitions  : 

]. — For  an  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  upon  our  churches  and  native 
agents,  upon  educational  institutions,  upon  our  own  souls. 

2. — For  the  raising  up  of  a  native  pastorate  and  the  development  of 
native  agencies.  We  are  aiming  and  planning  for  self-support.  Pray  that 
the  educated  young  men  of  Syria  may  have  their  hearts  turned  to  the 
ministry,  and  that  the  whole  corps  of  our  native  assistants  may  be  inspired 
with  zeal  and  self-denying  consecration. 

3. — For  the  progress  of  religious  liberty  everywhere,  and  for  all 
classes  in  Syria.  A  converted  Moslem's  life  is  not  safe  for  an  hour  in  any 
Syrian  city.  Papal  persecution  is  still  bitter  and  grinding  in  many  parts 
of  the  country.     We  want  liberty  of  conscience. 

Dear  brethren,  in  the  name  of  that  Saviour  who  once  trod  the  coasts  of 
Tyre  and  Sidon,  and  was  transfigured  upon  llermon,  we  ask  you  to  pray  for 
Syria,  that  lie  may  again  visit  that  dark  land,  and  lay  His  hands  in  spirit- 
ual healing  upon  the  sick  and  dying. 

And  there,  where  the  first  triumphs  of  Christianity  were  won,  may  t lie 
latter  day  glories  ofthe  cross  eclipse  those  <>fits  early  rising,  and  all  the  praise 
and  honor  be  given  to  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  t<>  the  Lamb 
lor  evermore  ! 


a. 


"SYRIA   MISSION. 


"  Western  Asia,"  says  a  writer,  "  has  been  the  scene  of  the  most  remarkable 
events  of  empire,  and  the  most  striking  triumphs  of  civilization,  since  the  ori- 
gin of  society.  The  earliest  associations  of  man,  the  earliest  inventions  by 
which  man  has  dominion  over  nature,  the  earliest  statesmanship,  the  earliest 
heroism,  the  earliest  science,  the  earliest  legislation,  and  even  the  earliest 
poetry  all  belong  to  this  magnificent,  lovely,  and  illustrious  region."  It  is  not, 
however,  with  the  past  we  have  to  do,  but  with  the  present ;  not  with  grand 
historic  scenes  or  with  the  rich  displays  of  genius  and  power,  but  with  man,  a 
moral  wreck,  ruined  by  sin,  needing  spiritual  light,  yet  loving  to  grope  in  dark- 
ness, and  satisfied  with  his  condition.  The  land  which  he  inhabits,  so  rich  in 
associations  and  so  memorable  in  the  history  of  the  race,  has  no  elevating  and 
transforming  effect  on  his  life  and  character.  The  deeds  done,  the  truths 
uttered,  and  the  heroes  who  toiled  to  enrich  others  are  unknown  or  have  no 
power  over  those  who  to-day  tread  the  same  soil,  and  gaze  upon  the  same 
scenes,  as  those  who  have  gone.  Whilst  these  memories  have  an  effect  upon 
some  to  stimulate  and  sustain  effort  for  the  improvement  of  the  inhabitants  of 
the  Orient,  they  have  none  upon  those  who  are  benefited  through  their  labors 
and  gifts  except  it  may  be  in  some  cases  to  foster  superstition. 

The  first  mission  to  Western  Asia  was  Palestine.  "  From  the  heights  of  the 
Holy  Land,"  the  missionaries  were  told  "  to  survey  with  earnest  attention  the 
various  tribes  and  classes  who  dwell  in  that  land  and  in  the  surrounding 
countries."  This  was  done,  and  soon  a  work  was  begun  in  Syria  that  has  con- 
tinued to  the  present  time.  The  mission  in  Palestine  had  a  chequered  exist- 
ence. In  1820  Messrs.  Fisk  and  Parsons  arrived  at  Smyrna,  and  afterward 
went  to  Jerusalem.  The  latter  only  made  visits  to  it,  occupying  in  all  a  few 
months,  when  he  died ;  the  former  spent  a  winter  there,  when  he  was  called  to 
a  better  land.  After  a  suspension  of  the  work  for  nearly  nine  years,  the  mis- 
sion was  resumed,  and  being  feebly  held  for  a  few  years,  it  was  finally  given  up 
in  1843.  A  number  of  laborers  died  during  its  occupancy,  and  others  were 
transferred  to  Syria,  some  of  whom,  like  Dr.  Thomson,  remain  unto  this  day. 
In  1855  this  mission  field  was  again  contracted  by  transferring  Northern  Syria 
from  Kesab  upward  to  the  mission  in  Turkey,  as  the  language  was  chiefly  the 
Turkish  and  not  the  Arabic.  This  brings  us  to  a  survey  of  what  is  known  as 
the 

SYRIA    MISSION. 

It  covers  a  territory,  in  length,  of  about  150  miles,  and  some  50  miles  in 
width,  and  embraces  a  population  of  less  than  a  million,  that  are  under  the 
direct  care  of  the  mission.     The  whole  population  of  Syria  is  greater,  but  parts 


2  Syria  Mission. 

of  it  are  attended  to  by  other  missionary  societies.  Ancient  Syria  was  much 
larger  than  the  portion  now  included  under  this  name,  and  embraced  the  whole 
country  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Euphrates,  and  between  the  Taurus 
and  the  border  of  Egypt.  Syria  has  an  important  connection  with  the  Jewish 
history  from  the  time  of  David,  then  with  the  conquests  of  Alexander,  next 
with  the  Romans,  after  them  came  the  Saracen  conquerors  in  the  seventh 
century,  then  the  Turkish  some  300  years  later,  and  for  more  than  1,200  years 
it  has  been  under  Mohammedan  influence. 

POPULATION    OF   THE    FIELD  AND    ITS    RELIGIONS. 

The  territory  embraced  in  the  mission  contains  a  population  of  about 
800,000,  divided  into  many  religions,  including  Moslem,  Christians  of  various 
names,  Jews,  and  a  class  who  are  semi-heathen.  To  see  the  difficulties  of  this 
field  it  is  important  to  know  the  character  of  its  inhabitants.  The  largest,  and 
by  far  the  most  powerful  of  the  religious  sects  is  the  Mohammedan.  These  em- 
brace nearly  one-half  of  the  people,  who  are  proud,  cruel,  oppressive,  hating 
Christianity,  and  seeing  but  little  of  it  in  the  numerous  forms  in  which  it  is  pre- 
sented to  their  study.     They  are  found  in  all  parts  of  the  land. 

The  Druzes,  numbering  about  50.000,  are  found  mainly  on  the  southern  half 
of  Lebanon,  and  on  the  plains  south  of  Damascus.  Their  religious  belief  is  a 
mixture  of  philosophy,  Mohammedanism,  Judaism,  and  Christianity.  They 
forbid  conversion,  on  pain  of  death,  to  Mohammedanism  and  Christianity. 
They  conceal  their  sacred  books,  and  hold  that  they  themselves  are  the  de- 
scendants of  Hakeem,  the  last  of  the  incarnations  of  the  Almighty,  for  whom 
they  are  now  looking,  as  he  is  to  again  appear  in  human  form  to  take  vengeance 
on  his  enemies  or  those  who  will  not  accept  his  rule. 

The  Nuzairiyeh  occupy  the  mountains  about  Santa,  north  of  Tripoli.  They 
are  reckoned  as  a  remnant  of  the  old  Canaanites,  and  are  semi-barbarous,  and 
at  least  half  heathen.     Their  faith  is  somewhat  similar  to  that  of  the  Druzes. 

Bedowin  Arabs  are  found  in  nearly  all  parts  of  the  field  ;  a  portion  of  this 
people  is  stationary,  living  only  in  the  settled  parts  of  the  country,  but  the  mass 
roam  over  the  plains,  wandering,  in  their  wild  state,  from  place  to  place. 

Of  the  Christian  sects  the  most  influential  is  the  Greek  CJiurch,  numbering 
about  150,000.  They  are  found  chiefly  in  the  cities  and  in  the  villages  of  the 
mountains.  They  are  Syrians  by  birth  and  descent,  and  speak  the  Arabic 
language.  The  lower  clergy  are  illiterate  and  laborious  ;  the  people  are  bigoted, 
deceitful,  and  haughty.  About  150  years  ago  there  was  a  Papal  offshoot  from 
the  Greek  Church  called  Greek  Catholies,  who  dwell  mostly  in  the  cities  and 
on  Lebanon  ;  whilst  in  thorough  sympathy  with  the  Papacy,  they  vet  assert,  at 
times,  a  good  deal  of  independence.  "They  probably  number  a  larger  pro- 
portion of  educated,  intelligent,  and  enterprising  young  men  than  any  other 
body  of  people  in  the  country." 

The  MaroniUs,  reckoned  at  200,000,  are  bigoted  Romanists,  very  ignorant 
and  wholly  under  the  control  of  the  priests  and  the  patriarch.     This  sect  arose 


Syria  Mission.  3 

in  the  seventh  century,  and  took  its  name  from  Maron,  its  founder.  In  the 
1 2th  century  they  submitted  to  the  Pope,  and  are  noted  for  unhesitating  devo- 
tion to  Rome. 

There  are  other  and  minor  Christian  sects,  as  the  Armenians  and  the  Jacobites, 
with  Papal  offshoots  from  both  of  these.  In  opposition  to  all  these,  in  a  certain 
sense,  is  that  of  the  Protestants,  as  yet  small  in  numbers,  but  rapidly  increasing 
as  a  community,  and  gathered  through  missionary  labor. 

ACCESSIBILITY    OF    THE    PEOPLE. 

The  statement  on  this  subject  made  by  the  mission  a  few  years  ago,  holds 
good  at  the  present  time,  and  is  as  follows : 

11  Of  the  various  sects  and  tribes  that  inhabit  our  field,  the  orthodox  Greeks 
are  the  most  accessible  to  missionary  labor.  This  is  owing  to  several  causes. 
The  first  and  most  influential  perhaps  is,  that  the  Greek  Church  has  never  for- 
bidden her  people  to  receive  and  read  the  Word  of  God.  They  have,  in  fact, 
been  always  willing  to  accept,  at  our  hands,  the  sacred  Scriptures,  and  to  have 
them  taught  in  our  schools.  They  are  also  disposed  to  accept  the  Bible  as 
paramount  authority  on  religious  matters.  From  this  cause,  too,  they  are 
more  willing  to  read  other  religious  books,  to  converse  on  spiritual  topics,  and 
to  listen  to  the  preached  Gospel.  Another  cause  of  the  greater  accessibility 
of  this  people  is,  that  they  are  a  minority  in  most  localities.  As  a  general 
thing  they  reside  in  towns  and  villages  in  connection  with  other  sects.  Thus, 
throughout  Southern  Lebanon,  they  are  associated  with  Druzes,  Maronites, 
and  Greek  Catholics,  and  it  is  but  rarely  that  they  form  the  majority  in  any 
community.  We  have  always  found  such  mingled  populations  more  free 
and  accessible  than  any  others.  Again,  rejecting  the  Papacy,  and  earnestly 
protesting  against  the  monstrous  pretensions  of  the  Pope,  they  have  many 
points  of  agreement  with  Protestants,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  look  upon  them 
as  friends  and  allies.  Owing  to  these  and  other  causes,  partly  social  and  in 
part  political,  this  people  are  everywhere  open  to  missionary  labor,  and  most 
of  the  members  of  our  churches  are  from  this  sect ;  and  as  they  are  found  in 
considerable  numbers  throughout  our  entire  field,  they  constitute  a  practical 
working  basis  of  the  utmost  importance. 

"  The  Greek  Catholics  (a  Papal  offshoot  from  the  Greek  Church,  which  began 
about  150  years  ago)  abound  most  in  the  cities  and  on  Lebanon  ;  and  though 
greatly  restrained  by  a  watchful  Papal  hierarchy,  the  people  retain,  and  at 
times  assert  a  good  deal  of  independence,  and  from  the  mere  fact  that  they 
have  once  broken  away  from  their  original  community,  they  are  the  more 
ready  to  investigate  religious  subjects,  and  more  open  to  conviction  than  the 
Maronites.  They  are,  also,  like  the  Greeks,  a  minority,  and  dwell  side  by  side 
with  other  sects. 

"  The  Maronites,  as  a  rule,  are  bigoted  Papists,  very  ignorant,  and  wholly 
subject  to  the  stringent  and  ever- watchful  control  of  their  clergy.     Their  hier- 


4  Syria  Mission. 

archy  is  also  very  numerous,  well  organized  and  powerful,  being  reinforced  by 
a  multitude  of  learned  Jesuits,  and  numberless  monks  and  nuns,  both  native 
and  foreign.  In  a  large  part  of  northern  Lebanon  they  are  the  only  inhabit- 
ants, and  there  their  authority  is  supreme.  Still,  even  in  this  stronghold  of 
the  Maronite  patriarch,  the  light  of  the  Gospel  is  beginning  to  penetrate  in 
spite  of  all  opposition,  and  not  only  individuals,  but  considerable  communities 
are  found,  from  time  to  time,  attempting  to  break  away  from  their  bondage, 
and  declare  themselves  Protestants.  This  number  is  steadily  increasing,  and 
there  is  good  reason  to  hope  that  a  wide  and  effectual  door  for  the  Gospel 
amongst  this  large  and  needy  people  will  ere  long  be  opened,  which  no  man 
can  shut.  In  other  parts  of  our  field,  where  the  Maronites  are  few,  they  are, 
of  course,  more  accessible  and  less  stringently  bound  by  their  priests. 

u  The  Druzes  are,  and  always  have  been,  our  personal  friends — are  glad  to 
have  us  reside  amongst  them,  and  open  schools  for  the  education  of  their  chil- 
dren. Of  late  many  of  their  most  enterprising  youth  are  seeking  a  higher 
education  in  our  seminaries  and  in  the  college.  It  is  very  desirable  that  more 
definite  and  adequate  measures  be  adopted  and  worked  efficiently  for  their 
conversion. 

"The  Moslems  and  Metawelies  are,  as  a  rule,  still  inaccessible  to  direct  mis- 
sionary labor.  They  are,  however,  waking  up  to  the  necessity  of  education, 
and  in  many  places  some  of  their  children  are  beginning  to  attend  our  schools. 
In  Beirut  there  are  two  schools  exclusively  for  Moslem  girls,  which  are  well- 
attended  though  conducted  on  Christian  principles.  A  spirit  of  inquiry  on 
religious  subjects  is  manifested  more  frequently  than  in  former  years,  and  a 
few  are  found  who  express  a  desire  to  forsake  the  faith  of  Islam.  Influences 
are  at  work  which  tend  slowly,  but  surely,  to  break  down  the  hitherto  impreg- 
nable wall  of  separation  which  forbids  the  introduction  of  the  Gospel  among 
the  Moslem  population  ;  and  the  time  draws  on  apace,  when  this  vast  field 
will  be  thrown  open  to  the  Church." 

OBSTACLES   TO    MISSIONARY   WORK. 

The  first  chief  hinderance  to  successful  labor  among  the  people,  is  the  great 
variety  of  sects  and  opinions.  The  whole  population  is  broken  up  into  so 
many  distinct  particles  that  have  no  cohesion  or  common  bond  of  union,  that 
the  missionary  finds  it  exceedingly  difficult  to  reach  them  in  mass.  Whilst 
there  is  much  antagonism  among  themselves,  much  fanaticism  and  hatred  of 
each  other,  all  these  are  forgotten  in  their  opposition  to  the  truth  when  brought 
to  them  by  the  evangelist,  and  they  are  ever  ready  to  make  common  cause 
against  it,  and,  when  necessary,  persecute  it  by  every  means  in  their  power. 
To  show  the  hostility  of  the  sects  to  each  other,  Dr.  Thomson  says  :  "  The 
various  religions  and  sects  live  together,  and  practice  their  conflicting  supersti- 
tions in  close  proximity,  but  the  people  do  not  coalesce  into  one  homogeneous 
community,  nor  do  they  regard  each  other  with  fraternal  feelings.  The  Sun- 
nites  excommunicate  the  Shiites  (rival  Moslem  sects) — both  hate  the  Druzes, 


Syria  Mission.  5 

and  all  three  detest  the  Nusairiyeh.  The  Maronites  have  no  particular  love 
for  anybody,  and  in  turn  are  disliked  by  all  ;  which  is  true,  also,  as  said  of  the 
Druzes.  The  orthodox  Greeks  can  not  endure  the  Greek  Catholics  ;  and  the 
fact  that  the  former,  more  generally  than  any  other  sect,  accept  the  missionary 
and  the  Gospel,  arrays  all  other  sects  against  them.  All  despise  the  Jews. 
These  remarks  are  also  true  of  all  the  minor  divisions  of  this  land."  These 
differences  in  creeds  are  so  many  opposing  powers  to  the  Gospel,  and  when 
combined  their  resistance  is  almost  invincible. 

The  lawlessness  of  the  people  is  another  barrier  to  the  reception  of  the 
truth.  The  government  is  founded  on  might,  not  right.  A  r  iople  subject  to 
and  honoring  law  is  unknown  in  Syria,  and  the  same  may  be  said  of  its  admin- 
istration by  the  authorities  ;  they  know  not  the  law  as  a  rule  of  right,  and  as 
this  is  mainly  in  the  hands  of  Moslems,  who  hate  Christianity  and  its  adher- 
ents, they  can  show  no  respect  to  them  if  they  come  in  any  way  in  opposition 
to  their  faith  and  their  self-interest.  The  same  is  true  of  all  the  sects.  More 
or  less  power  is  in  the  hands  of  their  priesthood,  who  wield  secular  as  well  as 
ecclesiastical  influence.  Let  a  convert  come  forth  in  any  community  to  the 
Protestant  faith,  and  he  has  to  encounter  his  family  in  all  their  relations,  the 
might  of  social  usages,  and  the  supremacy  of  priestly  authority  ;  he  has  to  run 
the  risk  of  social  ostracism,  political  disgrace,  and  bitter  persecution  and 
oppression.  He  has  no  friend  outside  of  the  mission  circle,  while  all  others 
are  arrayed  against  him,  and  ready  to  employ  any  agency  to  drive  him  back  to 
the  faith  he  has  left. 

Another  hinderance  to  successful  labor  is  found  in  the  political  entanglements 
of  the  country.  Says  the  mission  :  "  Each  of  the  sects  has,  or  seeks  to  have, 
some  foreign  protector,  upon  whom  it  can  depend  for  protection  against  its  ene- 
mies. The  Maronites  look  to  the  French  Government  to  sustain  their  independent 
existence.  The  Greeks  depend  upon  Russia  ;  the  Greek  Catholics  upon  Aus- 
tria, and  the  Druzes  rely  upon  England.  They  are  all,  in  fact,  dealt  with  by 
these  various  governments,  as  so  many  political  allies  in  this  country,  and  this 
marks  them  off  into  distinct  and  hostile  camps." 

The  war  between  France  and  Prussia  a  few  years  ago,  developed  a  bitter 
antagonism  among  the  people,  which  was  a  powerful  barrier  to  the  progress 
of  the  Gospel.  A  similar  feeling  exists  in  the  war  now  waging  between 
Turkey  and  Russia. 

Another  obstacle  to  the  progress  of  the  truth  is  the  low  type  of  Christianity 
found  among  the  people.  Of  all  that  pertains  to  true  godliness  all  sects  are 
ignorant.  The  Moslems  see  no  beauty  and  power  in  Christian  life  or  charac- 
ter as  manifested  by  Greek,  Maronite,  Jacobin,  Catholic,  or  Armenian.  All 
know  something  of  religious  phraseology,  but  nothing  of  its  power.  Rev.  Dr. 
Laurie  says  : 

"  Good  people  in  America  are  often  at  a  loss  to  understand  how  there  can 
be  so  many  Christian  sects  in  Syria,  and  no  religion.  But  if  they  will  bear 
in  mind  the  natural  character  of  the  heart,  and  then  consider  that  in  all  the 


6  Syria  Mission. 

nominal  churches  of  Syria  spiritual  instruction  is  never  given  ;  that  the  doc- 
trines of  the  Gospel  are  never  taught ;  that  piety  is  made  to  consist  in  out- 
ward ceremonies,  in  the  observance  of  days,  and  obedience  to  their  priests  ; 
that  their  idea  of  worship  is  the  repetition  of  prayers  in  an  unknown  tongue  ; 
that  the  distinction  between  the  regenerate  and  unregenerate  is  known  only 
as  the  difference  between  the  baptized  and  unbaptized  ;  that  religion  is  sepa- 
rated from  morality  ;  that  the  priest  is  held  to  have  power  to  pardon  sin,  and 
does  it  for  money  ;  that  their  preaching  is  either  a  teaching  of  the  worst  errors 
of  Popery,  or  incredible  and  silly  legends  of  saints,  they  will  see  how  the  name 
can  exist  without  the  substance." 

These,  with  other  hinderances,  stand  in  the  way  of  the  missionary  as  he  seeks 
to  bring  before  the  people  a  pure  Gospel,  and  endeavors  to  bring  them  into 
saving  union  with  it.  These  should  be  kept  in  mind  in  surveying  the  work 
accomplished,  and  when  properly  seen  and  appreciated,  there  will  be  more 
sympathy  between  the  Church  at  home  and  the  toilers  abroad,  and  more  ear- 
nest pleadings  with  God  for  the  removal  of  obstacles,  and  for  the  opening  up 
of  a  highway  among  the  people  for  the  Gospel. 

STATIONS. 

Beirut. — This  was  the  first  station  occupied  in  Syria,  and  here  was  begun 
the  mission  whose  influence  is  already  felt  in  many  lands.  Though  Beirut 
does  not  seem  to  be  mentioned  in  the  Bible,  unless  Baal-berith,  Judges  viii. 
33 — Baal  of  the  city  of  Berith  or  Beirut,  or  Berothai  of  2  Samuel  viii.  8,  re- 
ferred to  it.  Each  has  its  advocates.  Whatever  obscurity  there  may  be  about 
its  early  history,  there  is  none  as  to  its  antiquity.  It  is  situated,  with  its  sub- 
urbs, on  a  triangular  plain  coming  down  to  the  sea.  The  city  itself,  says  Dr. 
Thomson,  "  is  seated  seaward,  with  its  white  houses  on  overhanging  cliffs  or 
grouped  on  showy  terraces  and  commanding  hill-tops,  or  stowed  away  along 
retiring  glens,  half  revealed,  now  quite  concealed  by  crowding  mulberry  and 
parasol  China  trees  and  waving  festoons  of  vines  and  cunning  creepers  of  many 
colors — this,  this  is  Beirut,  with  the  glorious  Mediterranean  all  around,  and 
ships  and  boats  of  various  nations  and  picturesque  patterns  sailing  or  at  rest." 
The  city  has  greatly  increased  of  late  years  in  population,  commerce,  and 
wealth,  and  is  one  of  the  commanding  centers  of  the  Ottoman  Empire. 

On  Oct.  16,  1823,  owing  to  the  disturbed  condition  of  things  at  Jerusalem, 
Messrs.  Goodell  and  Bird,  who  had  been  designated  to  Palestine,  turned  aside 
to  Beirut  and  commenced  labor,  and  from  that  time  it  became  a  center  of 
missionary  operations.  Mr.  Bird  applied  himself  to  the  study  of  the  Arabic, 
and  Mr.  Goodell  to  that  of  the  Armeno-Turkish,  that  through  these  they  might 
reach  the  different  classes.  For  a  time  everything  went  on  pleasantly.  Their 
movements  were  undisturbed  by  the  civil  and  ecclesiastical  authorities,  as  they 
sought  to  diffuse  among  the  people  a  knowledge  of  the  Word.  But  as  they 
went  on  in  their  work,  and  their  force  was  increased  by  some  English  mission- 
aries, the    Papal   power  became   alarmed.     An  order  from  the   Maronite   Pa- 


Syria  Mission.  7 

triarch  came  forbidding  the  people  to  receive  any  more  the  Scriptures,  and  to 
burn  those  that  had  been  distributed.  This  did  not  alarm  the  laborers,  as  it 
was  only  what  they  expected  from  Rome  and  those  under  Papal  sway.  An- 
other move,  when  this  was  not  successful,  was  to  drive  them  out  of  the  city 
by  threatening  to  excommunicate  every  Maronite  who  should  hire  a  house  to 
the  missionary.  When  seeking  to  put  this  in  force  the  city  was  seized  by  the 
Greeks,  and  these  people  were  glad  to  place  their  houses  in  the  hands  of  those 
whom  they  were  seeking  to  expel. 

In  1827,  Rev.  Eli  Smith  landed  at  Beirut,  and  soon  after  four  converts  were 
admitted  to  the  privileges  of  the  mission  church.  This  ignoring  of  the  old  eccle- 
siastical relations  of  the  people  aroused  the  ire  of  the  priesthood,  and  severe 
denunciations  were  poured  out  upon  them  from  Greek  and  Maronite.  An 
order  was  soon  issued  that  no  one  should  speak  to  them,  enter  their  houses, 
pronounce  their  names,  serve  them  in  any  way,  sell  anything  to  them,  and  re- 
ceive anything  from  them.  Words  were  followed  by  persecution.  To  salute 
even  the  missionaries,  or  render  them  the  least  service,  was  made  a  penal 
offense.  The  Turkish  authorities  joined  with  the  ecclesiastical  powers,  and 
soon  some  of  the  people  were  imprisoned  and  others  beaten,  and  the  mission- 
aries did  not  dare  to  go  into  the  streets  or  to  be  seen  upon  the  house-tops,  and 
this  state  of  things  continued  for  many  weary  months.  Political  troubles  rendered 
their  situation  hazardous,  and  they  had  to  flee  to  the  mountains,  and  then  to 
Malta  in  1828,  and  for  a  time  the  mission  was  broken  up.  Owing  to  these 
troubles,  Malta,  which  was  under  British  sway,  became  for  a  time  the  home  of 
nearly  all  the  missionaries  to  the  countries  lying  on  the  Mediterranean. 

In  this  period  of  five  years  much  had  been  done  in  the  way  of  circulating 
the  Gospel  and  religious  truth,  removing  prejudices,  establishing  schools,  and 
in  receiving  some  to  church  privileges.  Among  the  incidents  that  took  place 
in  this  period,  and  which  made  a  great  impression  upon  the  Protestant  world, 
was  the  conversion,  life,  and  martyrdom  of  Asaad  Shidiak,  who  had  been  born 
and  reared  a  Maronite,  but  who  had  come  in  contact  with  the  missionaries,  first 
as  their  opponent,  then  as  their  friend  and  teacher,  then  as  an  humble  and  ear- 
nest follower  of  their  Master.  From  them  he  was  separated  by  craft,  then  im- 
prisoned, and  put  in  chains,  and  most  cruelly  treated  until  his  death,  but  hold- 
ing fast  till  life's  close,  his  Christian  hope  and  profession. 

The  mission  was  resumed  in  1830  by  the  return  of  Mr.  Bird.  Mr.  Goodell 
had  been  transferred  to  Constantinople ;  Mr.  Smith  came  back  at  a  later 
period,  and  in  1834  he  took  charge  of  the  Arabic  press  that  had  been  trans- 
ferred from  Malta.  The  next  year  the  high-school  was  established,  and  new 
laborers  appeared  in  Rev.  Messrs.  Hebard,  Lanneau,  and  Miss  Williams. 
These  were  followed  in  1838  by  Rev.  Messrs.  E.  R.  Beadle  and  Charles  S. 
Sherman  and  their  wives;  in  1840,  by  Rev.  Messrs.  S.  Wolcott,  N.  A.  Keyes, 
Leander  Thompson,  and  their  wives  ;  also  Rev.  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck.  Prior 
to  this,  there  had  been  some  religious  interest  among  the  Druzes,  and  one  who 
had  been  baptized  showed  a  good  deal  of  the  courage  and  martyr  spirit  of 


8  Syria  Mission. 

Shidiak.  Political  troubles  and  wars  led  to  a  suspension  of  the  mission  in 
1840,  when  it  was  resumed  the  following  year.  Renewed  interest  was  awak- 
ened among  the  Druzes,  and  a  school  was  opened  among  them,  but  the  war 
which,  broke  out  in  1845  f°r  political  ascendancy  between  the  Maronites  and 
them,  and  the  action  of  the  Turkish  power  interfering,  for  political  reasons,  with 
their  tendency  toward  Protestantism,  cut  them  off  from  all  Christian  effort. 
For  some  time  this  mission  had  a  chequered  existence.  Hopes  and  fears  com- 
mingled, and  its  dark  days  were  shaded  with  streaks  of  light  ;  reinforcements 
arrived,  and  old  laborers  had  to  retire — still  the  work  gradually  extended  until 
other  points  were  reached  with  the  truth  and  occupied  by  laborers,  so  that  the 
report  of  1856  says  that  the  Gospel  was  preached  at  16  places.  At  4  of  these, 
Beriut,  Abeih,  Sidon,  and  Hasbeiya,  churches  had  been  organized,  in  connec- 
tion with  which  were  80  members,  106  having  been  admitted  from  the  begin- 
ning. Besides  the  missionaries  already  mentioned,  the  following  were  received 
to  the  close  of  1856  :  Rev.  Messrs.  S.  H.  Calhoun  and  Thomas  Laurie,  1844  ; 
W.  A.  Benton,  1847  ;  J.  E.  Ford,  David  M.  Wilson,  and  Horace  Foote,  1848  ; 
W.  F.  Williams,  1849;  w-  w-  E^dy  and  W.  Bird,  1852  ;  J.  L.  Lyons  and  Ed- 
ward Aiken,  1855  ;  David  Bliss  and  Henry  H.  Jessup,  1856. 

At  the  commencement  of  1857,  Dr.  Eli  Smith,  whose  name  is  so  intimately 
connected  with  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  Arabic,  died  at  Beirut. 
He  was  succeeded  in  this  enterprise  by  Dr.  Van  Dyck,  who  removed  from 
Sidon  to  Beirut.  He  has  been  able  not  only  to  complete  the  Bible,  but  to  see  it 
issuing  steadily  from  the  press  and  received  into  many  a  house  with  gladness. 
As  time  went  on,  the  laborers  saw  the  work  extending,  prejudices  decreasing,  a 
steady  change  taking  place  in  popular  feeling,  and  the  influence  of  the  priests 
diminishing,  until  religious  liberty  was  guaranteed  to  all.  Schools  were  multi- 
plied in  different  localities,  and  steps  were  taken  for  the  training  of  a  native 
ministry.  Whilst  this  general  prosperity  was  enjoyed,  and  the  prospects  for 
greater  usefulness  were  brightening,  a  civil  war  broke  out  between  the  Chris- 
tians and  the  Druzes,  and  the  most  horrid  massacres  took  place  on  Lebanon, 
Hasbeiya,  Damascus,  and  elsewhere.  The  effects  of  this  war  upon  evangeli- 
zation were,  on  the  whole,  good,  as  priestly  power  was  weakened,  and  that  of 
Protestantism  was  increased.  The  indirect  results  of  missionarv  influence  con- 
tinued  to  extend  among  the  different  religious  sects;  the  circulation  of  the 
Scriptures  and  religious  books  rapidly  increased,  and  conversions  to  the  cause 
multiplied.  At  the  time  of  the  transfer  in  1870,  there  were  in  connection  with 
the  mission  8  missionaries,  3  unmarried  ladies,  4  stations,  32  outstations,  8 
churches,  245  communicants,  31  common  schools,  with  1,184  scholars,  and  2 
female  seminaries  with  95  pupils.  The  following  missionaries  were  added  to 
the  number  of  laborers,  some  of  whom  remained  but  a  short  time  in  the  field  : 
Rev.  Messrs.  S.  Jessup,  Philip  Berry,  and  G.  \V.  Post,  M.I).,  and  their  wives, 
1863  ;  Rev.  S.  S.  Mitchell  and  Rev.  Isaac  N.  Loury  and  their  wives  in  1867  ; 
Miss  E.  D.  Everett  and  Miss  Nellie  A.  Carruth,  1868  ;  Rev.  James  S.  Dennis, 
1869;  and  Miss  Sophie  B.  Loring  and  Miss  Ellen  Jackson,  1870. 


Syria  Mission.  9 

We  can  not,  at  this  time,  set  forth  the  great  educational  work  by  the  mission 
in  Beirut  and  all  over  the  land.  When  the  missionaries  arrived  there  was  little 
interest  in  education  and  less  in  what  they  attempted  for  the  people,  but  they 
gradually  extended  their  efforts,  and  these  grew  in  favor  more  and  more  until 
the  common  school  was  found  in  many  localities,  and  by  means  of  them 
Protestantism  gained  a  foothold  in  a  number  of  important  places.  The  edu- 
cation of  women  had  been  neglected,  and  the  opposition  to  it  was  great,  but 
the  missionaries  were  not  deterred  from  trying  to  reach  this  neglected  portion 
of  the  community,  and,  therefore,  began  the  work  by  taking  girls  into  their 
families  and  educating  them.  A  female  boarding-school  was  then  established 
at  Beirut,  which  has  been  a  decided  success,  and  is  regarded  as  a  powerful  aux- 
iliary to  missionary  work.  It  is  under  the  care  of  the  Misses  Everett,  Jackson, 
and  Van  Dyck. 

The  Syrian  Protestant  College,  though  not  formally  connected  with 
the  mission,  is  yet  so  associated  in  all  its  interests  with  its  great  work  as 
to  have  a  common  object  with  it  in  all  its  plans  and  methods.  Its  influence 
in  each  of  its  departments  of  education  upon  the  native  mind  is  great,  and 
every  year  is  increasing  its  elevating  and  beneficent  power  in  the  land. 

A  theological  school,  for  the  training  of  young  men  for  the  ministry,  has  been 
established  at  this  station,  under  the  care  of  Rev.  J.  S.  Dennis,  assisted  by 
some  of  the  missionaries.  The  press  has  also  accomplished  much  for  Syria.  Its 
issues  of  works  on  theology,  science,  literature,  and  medicine  have  been  steady 
and  abundant  for  several  years.  It  is  a  power  not  only  in  that  country,  but 
its  influence  is  felt  in  Africa,  China,  and  in  other  lands. 

The  present  laborers  at  Beirut  are,  Rev.  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck,  D.D.,  H.  H. 
Jessup,  D.D.,  J.  S.  Dennis,  and  their  wives.  Mrs.  S.  H.  Calhoun,  Mrs.  G.  B. 
Danforth,  Miss  E.  D.  Everett,  Miss  Ellen  Jackson,  and  Miss  Lizzie  Van  Dyck. 
Mr.  Hallock,  Superintendent  of  the  Press. 

Abeih. — In  1843  this  station  was  commenced  by  the  transfer  of  Messrs. 
Whiting,  Thomson,  and  Van  Dyck  from  Jerusalem.  At  first  there  were  some 
fears  of  governmental  interference,  but  none  was  manifested.  A  school  was 
established  which  soon  numbered  50  scholars,  and  eight  others  were  com- 
menced in  as  many  different  villages  on  the  mountains.  These  became  places 
for  preaching.  Soon  after  its  occupancy,  Rev.  S.  H.  Calhoun,  whose  death  took 
place  a  few  months  ago,  joined  this  station,  and  with  it  his  name  and  work 
were  identified.  A  seminary  to  train  up  an  efficient  ministry  was  placed,  says 
Dr.  Anderson,  "  not  at  Beirut,  but  at  Abeih,  1,500  feet  above  the  sea  level,  in 
a  temperate  atmosphere  and  with  a  magnificent  prospect  of  land  and  sea. 
The  education  was  to  be  essentially  Arabic,  the  clothing,  boarding,  and  lodg- 
ing strictly  in  the  native  style,  and  the  students  were  to  be  kept  as  far  as  pos- 
sible in  sympathy  with  their  own  people."  That  school  continued  to  do  its 
work  year  after  year,  and  mainly  under  the  efficient  control  of  Mr.  Calhoun. 
By  mission  action  its  character  was  somewhat  changed  two  years  ago,  and  at 
the  last  meeting  of  the  mission,  owing  to  the  educational  facilities  in  Beirut, 


io  Syria  Mission. 

the  missionaries  unanimously  requested  that  it  be  discontinued.  This  station 
has  been  for  some  time  the  center  of  extended  operations.  A  church  was  organ- 
ized here  in  1852  of  8  members  ;  in  1870  it  reported  75  members,  and  another 
church  organized  at  Ain  Zehalta.  The  present  laborers  are  Rev.  W.  JBird  and 
Rev.  F.  A.  Wood — the  latter  joined  the  mission  with  his  wife  in  187 1. 

Tripoli,  46  miles  north-northeast  of  Beirut,  was  selected  as  a  station  in  1849, 
and  was  occupied  by  Messrs.  Williams  and  Foote.  A  vigorous  opposition  to 
their  coming  was  made  by  the  people,  and  which  prevented  them  from  obtain- 
ing houses  in  the  city  ;  but  these  were  finally  secured.  These  brethren  were 
succeeded  by  Messrs.  Lyons  and  H.  H.  Jessup  in  1856,  who  remained  till  the 
troubles  of  i860.  It  was  vacant  till  the  fall  of  1863,  when  Dr.  Post  and  Rev. 
S.  Jessup  were  sent  to  occupy  it.  It  is  the  center  of  an  important  mission 
field,  which  contains  a  population  of  about  350,000.  A  full  account  of  this 
field,  with  many  interesting  facts,  will  be  found  in  the  Foreign  Missionary  of 
July,  18 7 1.  Much  seed  has  been  scattered  in  this  district.  There  has  been  a 
girls'  school  started  at  Tripoli,  under  the  care  of  Miss  H.  La  Grange  and  Miss 
Amelia  Thomson.  A  valuable  property  has  been  purchased,  and  the  work  at 
the  station  and  the  several  outstations  has  progressed  of  late  with  more  than 
usual  interest.  Rev.  Messrs.  S.  Jessup  and  O.  J.  Hardin  are  laboring  at 
this  point. 

Sidon,  twenty  miles  south  of  Beirut,  was  occupied  in  185 1  by  Drs.  Thom- 
son and  Van  Dyck,  who  remained  here  seven  years,  and  were  succeeded  by 
Rev.  W.  W.  Eddy.  It  is  the  headquarters  of  an  important  district,  where  the 
door  is  open  for  effective  labor.  There  are  twelve  outstations  connected  with 
Sidon,  which  are  supplied  with  native  teachers,  several  of  whom  are  preachers. 
There  are  four  churches  in  this  field.  There  is  an  important  girls'  boarding- 
school  at  Sidon.  These  scholars  are  gathered  from  Christian  families  from  all 
parts  of  the  country,  and  they  are  trained  to  become  teachers  and  helpers. 
They  attend  to  the  household  while  at  school,  and  by  this  means  they  will  be 
fitted  for  future  usefulness.  The  instruction  is  thorough,  and  no  branch  of  la- 
bor has  yielded  more  satisfactory  returns.  Rev.  T.  S.  Pond  and  his  wife  are 
associated  with  Dr.  Eddy  at  Sidon.  Miss  Harriet  M.  Eddy  is  connected  with 
the  female  seminary. 

Zalilch  was  occupied  in  1872  by  Rev.  Frank  A.  Wood  and  Rev.  G.  F.  Dale. 
It  lies  on  the  eastern  side  of  Mt.  Lebanon,  and  is  a  political  and  religious  cen- 
ter of  a  wide,  popular,  and  important  field  of  labor.  Great  success  has  at- 
tended the  labors  of  the  missionaries ;  a  church  has  been  organized  at 
Zahleh,  another  at  Sughbin  ;  four  chapels  have  already  been  erected  in  this 
field.  The  interesting  letter  of  Mr.  Dale  on  another  page  will  show  the 
character  of  the  work  that  is  now  going  forward.  Rev.  F.  W.  March  joined 
this  station  in  1873. 

The  last  report  of  the  mission  showed  that  there  were  connected  with  it  12 
missionaries,  3  ordained  and  13  licentiate  preachers,  6  unmarried  ladies,  5  sta- 
tions, 43  outstations,  573  communicants,  and  3,308  pupils  in  the  schools.     It 


Syria  Mission.  n 

will  be  seen  from  this  summary,  that  the  membership  of  the  churches  has  more 
than  doubled  since  the  transfer  of  the  mission  in   1870  ;  also  the  number  of 
scholars.     Most  of  the  schools  scattered  throughout  Syria  may  be  called  com- 
mon schools,  but  they  have  an  important  bearing  upon  the  evangelization  of 
the  people.     In  speaking  of  them  the  Mission  well  say  : 

"  The  demand  for  schools  is  increasing,  and  has  long  been  far  beyond  our 
ability  to  supply.  They  are  a  most  important  means  of  usefulness.  By  them 
we  gain  a  foothold  in  villages,  where  otherwise  we  could  not  find  a  field  open 
for  religious  instructidn.  They  are  as  wedges  to  cleave  asunder  the  adamantine 
rocks  of  bigotry.  The  children  are  not  simply  taught  to  read,  but  to  read  in 
the  Bible.  They  carry  the  Testaments  and  Catechisms  into  their  homes,  and 
repeat  there  the  texts  and  hymns  which  they  have  learned.  The  missionary 
can  visit  the  schools  in  person,  or  send  a  native  helper,  as  often  as  he  pleases, 
and  the  teacher  himself,  by  means  of  his  pupils,  has  more  or  less  access  to  the 
parents. 

"  Our  schools  are  sought  for  two  reasons  ;  they  are  'free,  or  nearly  so,  and 
the  instruction  is  more  thorough  than  elsewhere.  There  is  but  one  case  where 
we  have  maintained  our  ground  in  a  purely  Maronite  village,  and  there,  through 
the  efforts  of  a  few,  who  had  become  Protestants." 


D  . 


THE   OUTLOOK   IN   SYRIA. 


BY  REV.  H.  H.V  JESSUP. 


I.— THE   PAST   AND   THE   PRESENT   OF   THE    SYRIA   MISSION. 

In  the  American  cemetery  in  Beirut  is  a  plain  sandstone  slab  with  a  small, 
white  marble  tablet  set  in  its  surface,  with  the  inscription  :  "  Pliny  Fisk,  died 
1826,  aged  31  years." 

In  his  day  Beirut  had  a  population  of  8,000.  There  was  not  a  school  nor  a 
teacher,  and  hardly  a  book  or  a  reader.  Gross  darkness  covered  the  people. 
There  was  not  a  printing-press,  nor  a  school-building,  nor  a  carriage-road,  nor 
a  wheeled  vehicle,  nor  a  house  with  glass  windows,  nor  a  set  of  European  fur- 
niture in  the  land.  Commerce  with  Europe  had  hardly  been  thought  of,  and 
missionaries  were  looked  upon  as  secret  emissaries  of  some  mysterious  diabolical 
agency,  and  the  enemies  of  all  religion. 

Pliny  Fisk's  grave  was  far  outside  the  city  walls,  in  a  "parcel  of  ground" 
purchased  by  the  Americans.  That  grave  is  now  in  the  center  of  a  city  of 
80,000  people.  Around  it  are  schools,  churches,  and  residences.  One  mile 
to  the  west  is  the  Syrian  Protestant  College  ;  one  mile  to  the  east  is  the  Second 
Church  of  Beirut ;  and  one  mile  to  the  south  the  southern  suburbs  of  the  city. 
Macadamized  roads  form  the  streets  of  the  new  city ;  twice  a  day  the  diligence 
post  coach  runs  to  Damascus,  and  the  London  Water- Works  Company  sup- 
plies the  city  with  the  water  of  the  Dog  River,  forced  by  machinery  nine  miles  to 
the  hill  overlooking  the  town,  and  thence  distributed  in  iron  pipes  throughout 
the  town.  The  houses  of  the  city  are  well  built  of  stone,  many  of  them 
beautiful  specimens  of  Oriental  architecture,  with  glazed  windows  and 
many  modern  conveniences ;  and  European  chairs,  tables,  bureaus,  mirrors, 
wardrobes,  sofas,  and  book-cases,  made  by  native  Arab  workmen,  are  found 
in  almost  every  house.  There  are  4  colleges  in  the  city,  5  female  seminaries, 
93  schools  of  all  sects,  with  295  teachers  and  8,926  pupils,  of  whom  4,156  are 
girls  and  4,770  boys.  There  are  12  printing-presses,  of  which  5  are  Protest- 
ant, and  9  newspapers,  of  which  6  are  Protestant. 

The  Protestant  schools  in  Beirut  number  30,  with  116  teachers,  761  boys, 
and  2,281  girls,  or  a  total  of  3,042  pupils. 

The  whole  number  of  Protestant  schools  in  Syria  proper,  between  Antioch 
on  the  north,  and  Nazareth  on  the  south,  is  184,  with  341  teachers  and  10,585 
pupils,  of  whom  5,803  are  boys  and  4,782  are  girls.  Of  these  girls  about 
1,000  are  Mohammedans. 


The  general  statistics  of  education  in  Beirut  for  the  year  1S77,  will  be  found 
in  the  accompanying  table  : 

STATISTICS    OF   EDUCATION    IN   SYRIA   FOR   THE   YEAR    1877. 

I.— BEIRUT. 


Protestant. 


American  Female  Seminary 

American  Theological  Seminary- 
Mr.  Bistany's  National  College.  . 

British  Syrian  Schools 

Church  of  Scotland 

Protestant  Native  School 

Prussian  Deaconesses 

Syrian  Protestant  College 

Miss  Taylor's  Moslem  School 


Total  Protestant 

Orthodox  Greek. 
Church  Schools  for  Boys 


Church  Schools  for  Girls 

Private  Schools  M.  Isbir  Abood 

Private  Schools  M.  Asaad  Hatoom 


Total  Orthodox  Greek 

Papal  Greek. 

Patriarchal  College 

Common  Schools 

Total  Papal  Greek 


Bishop  Dibb's  College. 

Common  Schools 

Mar  Monsur  School... 
Nicola  Haddad  School. 


Maronite. 


Total  Maronite. 
Common  School.. . . 


Svriac. 


Boarding  School. 
Day  School   


Jewish. 


Total  Jewish. 


College  Clerics. .  . 
College  Boarders 

Day  Pupils 

Day  Schools 


Jesuit. 


Total  Jesuit. 


Orphan  ...... 

Other  Pupils. 
Ras  Beirut.  . . 
Musaitebeh  .. 


Sisters  of  Charity. 


Total  Sisters  of  Charity 

Sisters  of  Nazai 

Boarders 

Day  Pupils 


Total  Sisters  of  Nazareth 

Mohammedai*. 


Reshdiych,  military 
Common  Schools. . .  . 


Schools. 


14 


30 

6 
4 
3 


Total  Mohammedan. 


IS 


M 


116 


16 


33 


6 
13 


25 


4 
10 

4 


29 


IS 


31 


to 

8 


18 


*5 


=.; 


Teachers. 

Boys. 

12 

4 

9 

7 

40 

43 

i54 

9 

395 

2 

60 

21 

13 

103 

5 





..Girls. 


761 


716 

142 
70 

928 


112  j 
115) 


x33 

1,520 
229 

203 

196 


425 


425 


Total. 


227 

180 
400 
140 
100 

820 
80 


55 
70 


125 


42 
116 
106 
760 

1,024 


105 
700 

805 


260 
600 
150 
100 


90 
250 


340 


133 

9 

40 

1,974 
624 
60 
203 
103 
196 

3342 


716 

425 

142 

70 

1,353 


227 
227 


820 
820 


80 


125 


125 


1,024 


1,024 


340 

340 

805 

805 


BEIRUT  SCHOOLS-RECAPITULATION. 


Names  of  Schools. 


Protestant  Schools. 
Orthodox  Greek. . . 

Papal  Greek 

Maronite 

Syriac 

Jewish 

Jesuit 

Sisters  of  Charity,. 
Sisters  of  Nazareth 
Mohammedan 


Schools.  Teachers. 


30 

IS 

3 


3 

M 
4 


93 


116 

33 
11 

25 
2 

7 
29 

31 

18 

23 


295 


Boys. 


761 
928 
227 
820 
80 
125 
1,024 


805 


4,770 


Girls. 


2,281 
425 


1,110 
34o 


4,156 


Total. 


8,926 


II.— PROTESTANT  SCHOOLS  IN  SYRIA,  OUTSIDE  OF  BEIRUT. 


Names  of  Schools. 


High  and  Common  Schools. 

American  Mission 

Anglo-American  Schools  of  the  Society  of  Friends,  Brum- 

mana,  etc 

British  Syrian  Schools  

Irish  Presbyterian  Mission  in  Damascus 

Lebanon  Schools  of  Free  Church  of  Scotland 

Reformed  Presbyterian  Mission,  Latakiah 


Common  Schools. 


Church  Missionary  Society  in  Hauran 

Mr.  E.  Sullebey 

Society  for  Promoting  Female  Education  in  the  East. 
Mrs.  Watson's  Ain-Zehalteh  Boys'  School 


Total  Protestant  Schools  outside  Beirut. 
u        in  Beirut 


in  Syria 


Schools.  Teachers.     Boys. 


79 


13 


23 
7 


154 
3° 


13 

3i 


33 


225 
116 


34i 


3,000 
272 

396 
762 
300 


200 
90 


Girls. 


783 

73 
1,170 

30 
262 
100 


20 
63 


5,042 
761 


2,501 
2,281 


5,803     '    4,782 


Total. 


3,783 

345 
1,170 

426 
1,024 

400 


200 
no 

63 
22 


7,543 
3,°42 


10,585 


III.— STATISTICS  OF  GENERAL  PROTESTANT  AND   EVANGELICAL  WORK  IN 
SYRIA,  AT   THE  CLOSE   OF   1877. 


Names  of  Societies. 


American  Presbyterian  Mission 

Syrian  Protestant  College 

British  Syrian  Schools 

Church  of  Scotland  Mission  to  the  Jews 

Miss  Taylor's  Moslem  Girls'  Schools 

Native  Protestant  School,  Eastern  quarter 

Lebanon  Schools  of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland 

Anglo-American  Friends'  Society 

Society  for  Promoting  Female  Education  in  the  East  (Eng.) 

Mrs.  Watson's  School 

Mr.  B.  Bistany's  National  College 

Mr.  Sullebey's  School 

Prussian  Deaconesses  .    

Irish  Presbyterian  Mission 

Church  of  England  Mission  to  the  Jews  (Damascus) 

Church  Missionary  Society  (in  the  Hauran) 

Reformed  Presbyterian  Mission  (Latakiah) 


Totals 78 


bo  i/> 

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£0 

0  ° 

0 

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O 

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PL, 

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29 

135 

68 

2,838 

619 

83 

3,925 

6 

7 

1 

100 

4 

JP3 

7 

75 

27 

2,844 

2 

9 

2 

624 

1 

5 

1 

40 

2 

196 

2 

1 

60 

1 

60 

3 

33 

4 

130 

15 

23 

1,024 

i 

15 

2 

120 

12 

345 

2 

2 

1 

63 

1 

2 

7 

1 
1 

22 

40 

5 

1 

20 

4 

no 

14 

7 

1 

250 

21 

1 

203 

1 

n 

6 

200 

92 

10 

426 

2 

3 

1 

1 

4 

1 

4 

200 

8 

8 

2 

150 

50 

7 

400 

78 

33o 

39 

3,908 

794 

184 

10,585 

IV.— BEIRUT   PRESSES. 


1.  American  Press. 

2.  Mr.  Bistany's  Press  "  Maarif." 

3.  Jesuit  Press. 

4.  Khalil  Sarkis  "Adabiyeh." 

5.  RizkUllah  Khudra  M  Amumiyeh." 

6.  Yusef  Shelfoon  "  Kulliyeh.'' 


7.  Hannah  Nijjar  "  Sharakiyeh." 

8.  Khalil  Effendi  Khoori  "  Suriyeh." 

9.  Mr.  Pinkerton's  Press. 

10.  Turkish  Government  Lithographic  Press. 

11.  Mr.  Mott's  Lithographic  Press  for  the  Blind. 

12.  Abd-el-Kadir  Kubbani  "  Thumrat-el  Funoon. 


V.— BEIRUT  JOURNALS. 

Hadeukat-el- Akhbar,  official.         Circulation 350 

Jenan  Magazine,  B.  Bistany.                                703 

Jenneh  Journal,  Selim  Bistany.                           700 

Lisan-el-Hal,  Khalil  Sarkis.                    "            580 

Thumrat-el-Funoon,  Abd-el-Kadir.     M            400 

Busheer,  Jesuit.                                          "            400 

Muktataf,  Scientific  Magazine,        I      11 

Faris  Nimr  and  Yakoob  Seroof,      )                    ' 

Neshra.  American  Mission                      **            500 

Koukab-es-Subah,  American  Mission.  M            4,000 

9  Journals,  6  of  them  Protestant.  

Total 8,330 

II.— WORKING   FORCE   OF   THE   MISSION. 

THE   MISSIONARIES   AND   THEIR   STATIONS. 

Beirut  :  Revs.  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck,  D.D.,  M.D.,  Wm.  W.  Eddy,  D.D.,  and  James 
S.  Dennis,  and  their  wives  ;  Miss  Eliza  D.  Everett,  and  Miss  Lizzie  Van  Dyck  ;  Mr. 
Samuel  Hallock,  Supt.  of  the  Press. 

Tripoli  :  Revs.  Samuel  Jessup  and  Oscar  J.  Hardin,  and  their  wives  ;  Miss  Har- 
riet La  Grange  and  Miss  Emilia  Thomson. 

Abeih  :  Revs.  Wm.  Bird  and  Theodore  S.  Pond  and  wife. 

SlDON  :  Rev.  W.  K.  Eddy,  Miss  H.  M.  Eddy,  and  Miss  Mary  M.  Lyons. 

Zahleh  :  Rev.  Gerald  F.  Dale  and  Rev.  F.  W.  March. 

Deir  el  Komr  :  Mrs.  Emily  S.  Calhoun  and  Mrs.  E.  A.  Danforth. 

Temporarily  abse?it :  Rev.  Wm.  M.  Thomson,  D.D. 

In  this  country:  Rev.  H.  H.  Jessup,  D.D.,  and  family;  Mrs.  Bird  and  Miss 
Jackson. 

FACULTY   OF  THE   SYRIAN   PROTESTANT   COLLEGE. 

Rev.  Daniel  Bliss,  D.D.,  President ;  Rev.  C.  V.  A.  Van  Dyck,  M.D.,  D.D.  ;  Rev. 
Geo.  E.  Post,  M.D.  ;  Rev.  D.  Stuart  Dodge,  M.A. ;  Rev.  John  Wortabet,  M.D. ; 
Rev.  Edwin  R.  Lewis,  M.D. ;  Harvey  Porter,  B.A. ;  Mr.  Crane  ;  with  a  corps  of 
native  tutors. 

The  mission  has  been  greatly  cheered  by  the  arrival  in  Syria  of  Rev.  W.  K. 
Eddy,  son  of  Dr.  Eddy,  for  the  Sidon  station,  and  the  return  of  Mr.  March  to 
the  Zahleh  station.  The  sending  of  Mr.  Eddy  in  a  time  of  financial  embar- 
rassment to  the  Board,  was  through  the  liberality  and  zeal  of  the  Second 
Presbyterian  Church  of  Scranton,  Pa.,  and  other  liberal  friends  of  missions. 

III.— THE    NEED   OF   REINFORCEMENT. 

The  ill-health  of  several  members  of  the  mission  has  occasioned  not  a  little 
anxiety.  Mr.  Samuel  Jessup  has  been  obliged  to  spend  the  year  in  Shemlan, 
Mt.  Lebanon,  and  rest  from  labor  in  the  hope  of  recruiting  his  health,  which 
is  seriously  impaired.     Several  other  members  of  the  mission  have  been  laid 


aside  for  a  brief  period.  The  mission  calls  earnestly  for  another  missionary 
to  take  the  place  of  the  lamented  Wood.  A  married  man,  of  some  experience 
in  the  pastoral  work,  of  not  more  than  twenty-six  years  of  age,  and  able  to 
acquire  a  foreign  language  with  facility,  would  meet  the  demands  of  the  posi- 
tion. The  future  work  of  the  Syria  Mission  must  of  necessity  be  largely  lite- 
rary and  educational,  as  well  as  evangelistic,  and  men  of  first-class  ability  must 
be  called  into  the  field. 

IV.— THE   SPIRITUAL   OUTLOOK. 

The  past  year  was  one  of  unprecedented  spiritual  growth  in  Syria.  Ninety- 
one  members  were  added  to  the  churches  on  profession  ;  2  new  churches 
were  formed  ;  7  new  preaching  stations  opened  ;  200  persons  added  to  the 
congregations  ;  15  new  native  helpers  in  the  service  ;  12  new  Sabbath-schools 
opened,  and  seven  hundred  new  children  gathered  into  them.  The  contribu- 
tions of  the  native  churches  amounted  to  $1,057  ;  the  pupils  in  the  mission 
schools  increased  from  2,840  to  3,496  ;  the  number  of  pages  printed  was 
12,630,000,  of  which  6,000,000  were  pages  of  Scriptures. 

The  Missionary  Conference  held  in  Abeih  in  Sept.,  1877,  was  characterized 
by  spiritual  fervor,  harmony,  and  renewed  zeal  and  hope,  to  a  remarkable 
degree.  The  native  preachers  and  teachers  seemed  to  feel  that  upon  them 
largely  rested  the  responsibility  of  evangelizing  their  countrymen  in  Syria. 
The  last  year  was  one  of  anxiety,  distress,  and  "hard  times"  generally  in  the 
East,  yet  more  money  ($970)  was  paid  by  pupils  for  board  and  tuition  in  the 
Beirut  Female  Seminary  than  ever  before. 

V.— A  MACEDONIAN  APPEAL   SEALED  WITH  TEN  SEALS. 

The  following  is  a  literal  translation  of  a  letter  lately  received  by  the  Tripoli 
station  of  the  Syria  Mission,  begging  for  help.  It  comes  from  the  Greek  vil- 
lage of  Kefroon,  in  the  Nusairiyeh  mountains,  north  of  the  famous  Sabbatic 
fountain  mentioned  by  Josephus,  and  some  eighteen  hours'  ride  on  horseback 
from  Tripoli.  It  is  the  key  of  a  populous  and  hitherto  hostile  region,  which 
the  missionaries  have  been  trying  in  vain  to  enter  for  twenty  years,  and  now 
God  in  His  providence  is  opening  the  door. 

The  young  man  alluded  to  by  the  petitioners  is  the  son  of  a  Greek  priest, 

who  has  been  several  years  in  the  Abeih  Academy,  and  has  become  an  earnest 

Christian  : 

Kefroon,  June  29,  1878. 

To  the  full  moons  of  learning,  the  glory  of  tender  standing  and  intelligence,  the 
Khovajas  Samuel  Jessup  and  Hardin,  may  their  continuance  be  prolonged : 
The  Selectmen  and  the  people  of  the  village  of  Kefroon  humbly  represent  to  you 
that,  inasmuch  as  tidings  of  your  benevolent  labors  for  the  enlightenment  of  the 
world  have  reached  us,  your  brethren,  and  rung  in  the  ears  of  all  men,  we  have 
spread  out  the  hands  of  prayer  to  the  Creator  (be  He  exalted,  and  His  excellence 
glorified  !)  that  He  will  establish  and  perpetuate  the  foundations  of  your  country, 
which  is  a  doer  of  good  to  mankind. 


Now,  this  village  numbers  about  300  families,  and  we  have  about  200  boys — 
barbarous,  like  the  beasts,  with  minds  destitute  of  light — in  great  need  of  instruction. 

If  it  be  pleasing  in  your  sight,  we  beg  you  to  favor  us  by  sending  a  teacher  to  our 
village.  The  teacher  we  wish  is  the  man  distinguished  for  morality  and  high  learn- 
ing, Khowaja  Khalil  el  Khoori  el  Yazajy.  Please  send  him,  and  with  him  your 
commission,  that  he  may  carry  on  this  great  work. 

You  will  thus  please  God  (be  He  exalted  !)  and  receive  our  prayers  and  the  prayers 
of  our  children.  We  beg  you  to  answer  us  soon  and  grant  our  request.  After  all, 
it  must  be  as  you  command.  And  may  Allah  the  exalted  prolong  your  continuance. 
Effendum  ! 

(Signed  by  the  Sheikh,  two  Selectmen,  and  seven  others,  all  of  whom  seal  it  with 
their  signet  rings.) 

A  gentleman  in  Missouri  offers  to  aid  in  the  opening  of  a  school  for  boys  in 
Kefroon.  There  will  doubtless  soon  be  a  call  for  a  school  for  girls.  This  is 
I  ut  a  sample  of  the  calls  coming  to  the  mission  from  every  side,  at  a  time 
when  our  Board  is  obliged  by  the  churches  to  enjoin  the  mission  to  retrench, 
retreat,  and  reduce  its  work. 

VI.— MISSIONS  IN  SYRIA  AS  LIKELY  TO  BE  AFFECTED  BY  THE  WAR. 

The  occupation  of  Cyprus  by  the  British  Government,  and  the  Anglo-Turk- 
ish Treaty,  which  guarantees  reforms  of  various  kinds  in  the  Turkish  Empire, 
will  undoubtedly  have  a  favorable  effect  upon  the  missionary  work  in  the 
whole  Turkish  Empire. 

The  civil  reforms  to  be  effected  are  the  following  : 

1.  Abolition  of  the  system  of  farming  the  tithes.  This  system  has  been  the 
fertile  source  of  indescribable  extortion,  outrage,  oppression,  and  misery  for 
centuries,  until  the  peasantry  of  the  Empire  have  been  driven  to  despair. 
The  British  Government  now  propose  to  abolish  it,  and  substitute  the  system 
used  in  India. 

2.  Reform  of  the  judiciary,  which  is  hopelessly  corrupt  and  venal,  and  the 
appointment  of  British  judges  in  all  the  courts  of  appeal.  The  salary  of 
Turkish  judges  is  now  so  absurdly  small  as  to  compel  them  to  live  by  bribery. 

3.  Admission  of  Christian  testimony  in  the  courts  of  justice.  At  present 
none  but  Mohammedans  can  testify  in  court.  The  British  Government  will 
insist  on  giving  Christians  equal  rights  with  Moslems  in  this,  as  in  all  other 
respects. 

4.  Enrolling  of  Christians  in  the  army,  and  thus  securing  religious  liberty  to 
Mohammedan  converts  to  Christianity.  In  the  past,  Mohammedans  alone 
have  been  liable  to  the  conscription.  It  has  weighed  heavily  on  them.  Every 
convert  to  Christianity  has  been  regarded  as  a  traitor  to  his  country — a  rene- 
gade from  the  draft.  When  Christians  are  drafted  into  the  army,  a  Moslem 
will  not  be  lost  to  the  military  service,  even  if  he  becomes  a  Christian,  and 
thus  the  great  political  ground  for  persecuting  Moslem  converts  to  Christian- 


7 

ity  will  have  ceased  forever.     This  is  a  result  Christian  missionaries  have  been 
praying  for  during  the  past  forty  years. 

5.  The  repression  of  the  wild  predatory  nomadic  tribes,  such  as  Koords, 
Circassians,  Turcomans,  Nusairiyeh,  Yezidees,  Druzes,  and  Bedouin  Arabs, 
who  have  been  a  terror  to  the  peasantry  for  ages,  and  whom  the  British  Gov- 
ernment can  keep  in  order  with  comparative  ease. 

6.  The  suppression  of  slavery  and  the  slave-trade  in  the  Red  Sea  and 
Southern  Arabia.  The  Koran  sanctions  slavery,  and  the  Moslems  continue  to 
evade  the  Sultan's  firmans  against  it ;  but  the  British  agents  have  ever  aided  in 
the  emancipation  of  enslaved  men,  and  will  now  labor  with  new  zeal  and 
efficiency. 

7.  The  laws  with  regard  to  the  press,  and  education  also,  will  probably  be 
modified  to  conform  to  the  spirit  of  modern  civilization. 

A  native  Protestant  journal  in  Beirut,  the  Jenneh,  of  date  Oct.  8,  1878, 
gives  eleven  points  of  reform  needed  in  Syria  : 

"  1.  The  stoppage  of  reckless  expense.  2.  Adjustment  of  taxation  and 
regulation  of  the  budget  of  income  and  expenditure.  3.  Increasing  the  pay 
of  public  officers  and  of  the  police.     4.   Appointing  worthy  men   to  office. 

5.  Codification    of  the    laws    to    prevent    the    conflicting    of    different   laws. 

6.  Publication  of  all  legal  decisions.  7.  Obliging  the  defeated  litigant  to 
pay  the  costs  of  trial.  8.  Protection  to  life  and  property.  9.  Correcting  all 
legal  processes,  and  preventing  their  being  arrested.  10.  Making  all  officers 
responsible  for  their  acts.  11.  Setting  apart  a  fixed  sum  in  every  province  for 
public  improvements  and  education." 

As  the  Sultan  has  publicly  asked  all  the  provincial  governors  for  suggestions 
as  to  needed  reforms,  and  the  Waly  of  Syria  has  asked  the  Syrian  journals  for 
their  assistance,  we  may  take  it  for  granted  that  a  movement  in  the  direction 
of  reform  has  already  commenced,  although  it  will  not  do  to  look  for  too 
speedy  results. 

8.  A  new  impulse  will  be  given  to  the  study  of  the  English  language  through- 
out the  Empire.  The  Syrian  Protestant  College  in  Beirut  has  already  decided 
to  make  the  English  language  the  medium  of  instruction  after  Sept.,  1879. 
Students  are  already  coining  to  its  halls  from  Cyprus.  A  member  of  the 
Beirut  Church  has  been  appointed  secretary  and  interpreter  to  the  Viceroy  of 
Cyprus.  The  attitude  of  Great  Britain  will  give  confidence  to  the  Protest- 
ants and  other  Christian  sects  of  the  Empire.  It  will  no  longer  be  a  shame 
and  disgrace  to  be  a  Protestant.  There  will  be  a  new  demand  for  education 
of  every  grade. 

As  the  burdens  of  the  people  are  lightened  and  prosperity  returns,  the 
native  churches  will  be  better  able  to  support  their  own  pastors  and  teachers. 
It  can  not  be  questioned,  however,  that  the  payment  of  the  Russian  war 
indemnity  will  entail  upon  the  people  of  Turkey  a  heavy  burden  for  years  to 
come. 


8 


VII.— THE  MOHAMMEDAN   GIRLS'   SCHOOL   IN   BEIRUT. 

"On  Tuesday,  Oct.  i,  1S73,  the  Mohamm.dan  Benevolent  Society  of 
Beirut,  Syria,  opened  a  school  for  girls  in  this  city,  and  we  are  requested  to 
urge  all  the  owners  of  zeal  and  perfection  to  continue  their  aid  to  this  Society, 
that  it  may  be  able  to  open  also  a  school  for  boys." 

This  is  the  language  of  the  Mohammedan  weekly  journal  of  Beirut,  the 
Thumrat-cl-Funoou.  It  is  the  organ  of  the  orthodox  as  well  as  the  progressive 
"Young  Islam"  party  of  the  Syrian  Muslims.  It  is  a  remarkable  statement. 
A  Protestant  journal,  Lisan-el-HaL  of  the  same  city,  of  date  Oct.  7th,  pub- 
lishes the  same  notice,  with  this  additional  statement:  "The  Mohammedan 
Society  of  Benevolent  Intentions,  opened  on  Tuesday  last  a  girls'  school,  with 
150  pupils,  and  it  is  very  gratifying  that  the  teachers  of  this  school  are  Moslem 
girls  who  have  been  taught  in  the  British  schools  of  Mrs.  Mott  and  Miss  Tay- 
lor. We  would  congratulate  this  sect  and  their  Society  upon  this  praise- 
worthy enterprise,  and  pray  for  its  prosperity  and  success." 

This  notice  is  the  heralding  of  a  new  era  in  Syria,  a  new  stage  in  true  prog- 
ress. The  Mohammedans  have  at  length  wheeled  into  line  with  that  advanc- 
ing column,  led  by  the  Protestant  missionaries,  which  is  moving  on  to  the 
education  and  enlightenment  of  Syria,  and  the  disenthrallment  and  elevation  of 
woman  in  the  East. 

The  Moslems  have  been  the  last  to  move,  but  they  have  new  moved  in 
earnest.  They  have  not  only  opened  a  school,  but  a  school  for  girls,  and  in  a 
land  where  woman  has  been  so  degraded,  and  the  birth  of  a  girl  regarded  as  a 
misfortune,  they  have  opened  their  girls'  school  first,  and  now  call  upon  their 
benevolent  co-religionists  to  give  more  liberally  to  enable  them  to  also  open  a 
school  for  boys. 

Such  a  testimony  to  the  value  and  importance  of  female  education,  speaks 
volumes  with  regard  to  the  great  change  wrought  in  public  sentiment  in 
Syria.  Their  girls  are  to  be  taught.  The  first  place  is  given  them  in  the  new 
Mohammedan  Benevolent  Society.  The  boys  must  take  their  chance  as  they 
may,  but  the  first  and  surest  gifts  are  appropriated  to  the  girls. 

Those  poor,  despised,  commiserated  beings,  formerly  doomed  to  a  hopeless 
servitude  in  the  harem,  to  be  beaten,  cursed,  and  enslaved,  shut  off  from  books 
and  education,  with  no  honor  here  and  no  hope  hereafter,  are  to  be  instructed 
and  honored,  and  the  opening  of  their  first  school  is  made  the  occasion  of 
congratulations  in  all  the  journals  of  the  land. 

Truly  Syria  moves,  and  moves  onward.  Those  Moslem  girls,  trained  in  evan- 
gelical schools,  acquainted  with  the  Bible  and  the  religion  of  Chri?t,  who  have 
been  set  over  this  first  Mohammedan  girls'  school  in  Syria,  should  be  remem- 
bered in  prayer  by  every  Christian  woman  in  this  Christian  land,  that  they  may 
have  grace  and  wisdom  to  teach  aright.  They  will  have  to  teach  the  girls  un- 
der their  care  to  read  the  Koran  and  Arabic  grammar,  with  probably  geogra- 
phy, arithmetic,  writing,  and  sewing,  but  in  their  lives  and  conversation  they 


can  commend  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  The  mere  fact  that  Mohammedans  will 
pay  for  the  education  of  girls,  is  one  of  those  striking  pivotal  events  which 
mark  a  new  epoch  in  history.  It  is  a  result  and  fruit  of  the  missionary  work 
in  Syria,  an  outgrowth  of  that  improved  and  enlightened  public  sentiment 
which  is  no  longer  ashamed  to  admit  publicly,  and  in  the  most  conspicuous 
manner,  that  the  education  of  girls  is  even  more  important  than  the  education 
of  boys. 

What  a  marvelous  change  since  the  days  of  Fisk,  Parsons,  and  Eli  Smith ! 

VIII.— THE   BENEVOLENT   WORK   OF   THE   BEIRUT   GREEKS. 

"On  Tuesday,  Oct.  4,  1878,  the  Orthodox  Greek  Benevolent  Society  of 
Beirut,  celebrated  its  tenth  anniversary  in  the  school  building  of  the  Society. 
A  great  company  of  the  present  and  former  members  were  in  attendance,  with 
invited  guests  from  all  the  sects.  The  Report  stated  that  the  Society  has  ex- 
pended during  the  past  ten  years  about  $50,000  in  the  education  of  boys  and 
girls,  and  in  caring  for  the  poor  and  sick,  the  widowed  and  orphaned." 

This  notice  is  from  a  Protestant  journal  in  Beirut,  which  also  states  that 
various  speeches  were  made  on  "  The  value  of  organized  societies,"  "  The 
duty  of  the  rich  to  the  poor,"  "  The  benevolent  societies  of  Europe  and  Amer- 
ica," "  The  propriety  of  a  Union  Benevolent  Society  of  all  the  religious  sects  in 
Syria,"  "  The  need  of  reform  in  our  schools,  in  the  training  of  teachers,  and  the 
selection  of  studies,"  etc.,  etc. 

A  Mohammedan  present,  a  member  of  the  Mohammedan  Benevolent 
Society,  made  an  address,  congratulating  the  Greek  Society,  and  wishing  it 
long-continued  prosperity. 

The  whole  company  then  rode  in  carriages  to  the  Pine  Forest,  outside  the 
city,  where  a  repast  was  provided,  and  that  the  poor  might  not  feel  slighted  on 
such  a  day  of  rejoicing,  those  present  purchased  1,500  yards  of  cotton  cloth  to 
be  given  to  the  needy  poor. 

This  Greek  Society  represents  the  best  elements  in  the  Arab  Greek  Church 
in  Syria.  It  has  15  schools  with  928  boys  and  425  girls — total,  1,353  pupils ; 
and  these  schools  are  a  powerful  auxiliary  to  the  true  enlightenment  of  the  peo- 
ple. The  New  Testament  is  taught  in  them  all,  and  their  teachers  were  many 
of  them  trained  in  Protestant  schools. 

The  most  cordial  feeling  prevails  between  its  members  and  the  Protestant 
community,  and  the  proposition,  made  and  enforced  in  one  of  the  public  ad- 
dresses at  this  anniversary,  that  there  be  formed  a  "  Union  Benevolent  Society 
of  all  the  religious  sects  in  Syria,"  is  but  one  of  the  many  indications  of  the 
growing  confidence  and  kindly  feeling  between  the  lately  hostile  and  antago- 
nistic sects  of  Syria. 

IX.— OTHER   SOCIETIES  IN   SYRIA. 

The  Protestants  were  first  in  the  field  with  their  "Evangelical  Society," 
their  "  Benevolent  Society,"  and  "  Young  Men's  Christian  Association."    Then 


IO 

arose  the  Maronite   Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  ;    then  the  Greek  "  Be- 
nevolent Society,"  and  now  the  Moslem  "Society  of  Benevolent  Intentions." 

The  Jewish  community,  too,  have  been  obliged  to  open  schools,  and  the 
Jewish  children,  generally  the  most  ignorant  and  degraded  of  all,  are  now  en- 
joying the  benefits  of  a  high-school,  organized  after  the  pattern  of  the  best 
native  Protestant  high-school  in  Syria. 

X.— MUNICIPAL  ELECTIONS   IN   SYRIA. 

One  remarkable  feature  in  the  history  of  Syria  during  the  past  year,  has 
been  the  introduction  of  popular  elections  in  all  the  cities  for  the  choice  of 
municipal  officers ;  all  property  owners  were  registered.  The  registration  lists 
were  posted  in  public  places  for  a  fortnight  for  correction.  Then  the  voters 
balloted  for  twelve  councilmen.  In  Beirut,  where  a  majority  of  the  population 
is  Christian,  ten  Christians  and  two  Moslems  were  chosen.  In  the  ancient 
Hamath,  where  are  28,000  Moslems  and  2,000  Christians,  ten  Moslems  and 
two  Christians  were  chosen.  In  Damascus  the  majority  were  Moslems.  The 
Beirut  Municipality  have  already  inaugurated  reforms  of  various  kinds,  and  are 
setting  an  example  to  all  the  other  cities  of  Syria  and  Palestine. 

XL— RECENT   TRIALS   IN   THE   SYRIA   MISSION   FIELD. 

1.  The  death  of  beloved  and  useful  laborers  in  the  field. 

In  April,  Mrs.  Lewis,  wife  of  Prof.  Lewis,  of  the  Beirut  College,  a  Christian 
woman  of  singular  transparency  of  character,  was  called  to  her  rest,  leaving 
many  mourning  friends  in  the  foreign  and  native  communities. 

Then  "Sister"  Amalia  von  Richter,  the  directress  of  the  European  De- 
partment of  the  Prussian  Deaconesses  Institution  in  Beirut,  died  after  a  brief 
illness.  This  noble  woman,  whose  praise  is  spoken  in  all  Syria,  deserves  more 
of  a  tribute  than  can  be  given  in  these  columns,  and  the  order  of  Protestant 
Lutheran  Deaconesses  to  which  she  belonged,  are  worthy  of  the  confidence 
and  gratitude  of  the  Church  universal,  for  their  exemplary  and  self-denying  la- 
bors in  their  orphan-houses,  boarding-schools,  and  hospitals  in  Europe,  Asia, 
and  Africa. 

Sister  Amalia  had  been  connected  with  the  Order  of  the  Deaconesses  for  more 
than  twenty  years  ;  was  a  sincere  Christian,  an  accomplished  scholar,  one  of 
the  eminently  sweet  singers  of  Israel,  a  teacher  and  disciplinarian  of  German 
thoroughness  and  exactness,  and  an  attractive  member  of  society.  The  entire 
native  and  foreign  communities  of  Beirut  will  long  feel  her  loss  as  a  personal  be- 
reavement. And  it  is  worthy  of  remark  in  this  connection,  that  the  labors  of 
this  pious  and  self-denying  Protestant  Sisterhood  have  silenced  forever  in  the 
East  the  oft-repeated  boast  of  Rome,  that  her  "  Sisters  of  Charity  "  furnished 
the  only  instance  of  true  womanly  devotion  and  self-denial  in  the  Christian 
Church. 

Not  long  after  the  death  of  Sister  Amalia,  the  mission  and  the  whole  native 


II 

and  foreign  Protestant  communities  were  again  plunged  into  grief  by  the  sudden 
illness  and  death  of  the  Rev.  Frank  Wood.  He  was  one  of  the  younger  mem- 
bers of  the  mission,  and  had  won  the  respect  and  love  of  all.  Physically  and 
intellectually,  he  was  one  of  the  strongest  of  men,  and  spiritually,  one  of  the 
loveliest. 

The  mission  needed  him,  Syria  needed  him.  We  can  hardly  believe  that 
he  is  gone,  and  we  shall  never  understand  why  so  strong  and  efficient  a  soldier 
was  suddenly  withdrawn  from  the  ranks,  until  we  see  as  we  are  seen,  and 
know  even  as  we  are  known. 

Then,  following  the  death  of  these  three  of  God's  saints  in  the  foreign  com- 
munity, came  the  death  of  three  of  the  most  prominent  native  Protestants  in 
Syria.      Of  each  one,  much  of  thrilling  interest  might  be  written. 

The  first  was  Deacon  Elias  Fuaz,  one  of  the  old  pillars  of  the  Evangelical 
Church  in  Syria.  He  was  a  pillar  saint,  not  of  the  kind  who  stand  on  pillars, 
but  one  of  the  pillars  on  whom  others  stand.  He  had  a  rough  exterior,  a  voice 
far  from  winning,  but  for  true  sincerity,  stern  adherence  to  truth,  and  absolute 
integrity,  he  never  had  a  superior  in  the  Arab  race.  He  bad  been  persecuted, 
stoned,  and  maligned  for  Christ's  sake,  but  in  the  dark  days  when  many  for- 
sook the  faith  and  fled,  he  stood  like  a  rock  amid  the  billows. 

In  Syria,  a  father  receives  the  name  of  his  first-born  son.  His  name  was 
Elias,  and  although  he  had  no  son  born  for  sixty  years  of  his  life,  he  was  al- 
ways called  Aboo  Nasif  (the  father  of  Nasif ),  that  is,  by  the  name  of  an  imag- 
inary son  as  a  title  of  respect.  When  more  than  sixty,  he  married,  and  God 
gave  him  a  son.  This  son  was  necessarily  called  Nasif.  He  was  about  the  age 
of  one  of  my  little  sons,  and  as  our  houses  were  adjacent,  our  children  became 
greatly  attached  to  little  Nasif.  The  love  of  that  old  Abraham  for  his  tender 
Isaac  was  indescribably  touching.  He  seemed  to  live  in  the  life  and  the  love 
of  the  little  black-eyed  boy.  But  his  staff  was  to  be  broken.  The  little  boy 
sickened  with  pneumonia,  and  after  thirty  days'  illness,  died.  I  sat  daily  by  his 
bedside,  and  never  have  I  seen  such  bitter  anxiety.  For  ten  days  the  old  man  had 
no  sleep  but  in  stray  moments  of  absolute  exhaustion,  and  when  the  little 
spirit  took  its  flight,  the  light  of  his  life  seemed  extinguished  forever.  He 
beautified  the  little  lad's  tomb,  and  planted  cypress  trees  around  it.  But  never 
after  that  day  was  he  himself  again.  He  pined  and  sickened,  and  after  a  weary, 
painful,  and  protracted  illness,  passed  away.  I  never  had  a  better  friend  in 
Syria,  and  Beirut  will  seem  strange  to  me  without  him. 

Then  the  Lord  called  another  of  His  dear  Syrian  children,  M.  Nicola  Tub- 
bajy.  Born  in  Damascus,  he  removed  to  Egypt,  made  a  fortune  in  Cairo,  was 
made  Chief  Counsellor  of  the  Greek  Patriarch,  studied  the  writings  of  Basil 
and  Chrysostom  in  the  Arabic  translation,  but  had  no  conception  of  spiritual  re- 
ligion. Attacked  by  paralysis,  he  traveled  in  Europe  with  his  wife,  visited  the 
springs  of  France  and  Germany,  and  on  his  return  settled  in  Beirut  as  a  health 
station,  and  to  enjoy  the  medical  services  of  Dr.  Van  Dyck  and  other  physicians. 
He  visited  the  evangelical  church  out  of  curiosity.     His  attention  was  riveted. 


12 

He  was  converted,  thoroughly  and  utterly  converted,  into  a  new,  whole-hearted, 
liberal,  self-denying,  prayerful,  Bible-loving  man  of  God,  and  soon  after,  with 
his  wife,  professed  his  faith  in  Christ.  My  intercourse  with  him  will  ever  form 
one  of  the  sweetest  memories  of  my  life.  He  helped  me  in  the  spiritual  and 
temporal  concerns  of  the  church,  and  was  chief  promoter  and  founder  of  the 
new  chapel  in  the  eastern  quarter  of  Beirut.  For  months  before  I  left  Syria  he 
had  been  very  ill — paralysis  had  disabled  his  lower  limbs  and  destroyed  his 
vision.  His  sick-room  was  luminous  with  the  light  and  joy  of  Christian  hope 
and  peace.  The  interests  of  Christ's  Church  in  Syria  were  dear  to  his  heart, 
and  he  prayed  earnestly  for  the  salvation  of  his  fellow-countrymen. 

On  the  morning  of  April  nth,  the  day  I  sailed  from  Beirut,  at  $}4  o'clock, 
I  rode  to  his  house  to  bid  him  farewell.  He  heard  my  voice  as  I  entered  the 
room,  and  called  me  to  his  bedside.  We  spent  a  brief  season  in  prayer,  and 
then  I  bade  him  good-bye.  He  threw  his  arms  around  my  neck,  kissed  me 
affectionately  on  both  cheeks,  and  wept  aloud.  "  My  brother,  my  dear  brother," 
said  he,  "  and  is  this  our  last  meeting  on  earth  ?  I  thank  you  for  what  you 
have  done  for  me.  Do  not  forget  me  in  your  prayers.  I  shall  soon  see  Christ, 
and  it  will  not  be  long  before  we  meet  again."  As  I  passed  out  the  door  he 
was  sobbing  aloud,  and  I  could  not  restrain  my  tears  as  I  thought  I  should  see 
that  dear  man  of 'God  no  more  this  side  heaven. 

The  last  letters  from  Syria,  of  October  16th,  announce  the  death,  from 
pneumonia,  of  Mr.  Selim  Mirai,  a  recent  graduate  of  the  Beirut  Theological 
Seminary.  Ten  years  since  he  was  a  stone-mason  in  Mt.  Lebanon,  a  hard- 
handed,  rugged,  athletic  youth.  Happening  in  one  Sunday  at  the  Beirut 
church,  he  heard  the  Gospel  preached  for  the  first  time.  It  came  to  him  as  a 
startling  revelation.  He  struggled  against  the  truth,  but  was  conquered,  and 
ere  long  abandoned  the  mariolatry  and  saint-worship  of  the  Greek  Church,  and 
accepted  Christ  alone  as  his  Saviour.  He  studied  in  Abeih  with  Mr.  Calhoun, 
and  spent  several  years  in  teaching,  and  three  years  in  the  Beirut  Theological 
Seminary,  where  he  graduated  last  July.  Mr.  James  Black,  an  eminent  British 
Christian  merchant  in  Beirut,  after  listening  to  one  of  his  sermons,  stated  that 
it  was  the  most  eloquent  discourse  he  ever  heard  from  a  native  Syrian.  He 
gave  fine  promise  of  success  as  a  native  preacher,  and  was  laboring  in  El 
Hadeth  and  Kefr  Shima  with  great  acceptance. 

A  work  was  ready  for  him,  and  he  was  ready  for  his  work.  The  Syrian 
Evangelical  Church  has  sustained  a  great  loss  in  his  death. 

2.  Another  trial  to  the  mission  is  the  serious  reduction  in  the  mission  appro- 
priations for  the  current  year,  involving  loss,  diminution  of  effective  force,  and, 
to  a  considerable  extent,  cessation  of  aggressive  labor. 

3.  Another  trial  has  been  the  ill-health  of  several  members  of  the  mission. 

4.  The  mission  has  also  continued  to  be  tried  by  the  fanatical  propagandist!] 
of  the  "  Plymouth  Brethren,"  a  sect  which  may  be  regarded  as  the  enemy  of 
all  order,  edification,  unity,  and  spiritual  growth  in  the  Christian  Church. 
With  the  most  specious  and  oily-tongued  professions  of  piety,  brotherly  love, 


13 

and  zeal  for  purity,  it  soon  reveals  a  spirit  the  most  intolerant,  self-seeking, 
exclusive,  and  denunciatory.  The  five  men  who  followed  the  Plymouth 
apostle  in  Beirut,  will  now  neither  commune  with  him  nor  with  one  another. 
The  "  Brethren  "  break  the  Sabbath  openly,  going  to  the  market  and  doing 
worldly  business,  as  they  are  "  not  bound  by  the  law."  Teaching  that  in 
regeneration  the  "  old  Adam  "  remains  unchanged,  they  disavow  all  responsi- 
bility for  their  evil  deeds.  One  of  them,  a  young  man  in  Hums,  robbed  the 
shop  of  a  brother  "  Plymouthite."  The  rest  called  him  to  account.  He 
replied  that  he  had  enough  to  do  in  looking  after  his  new  nature  and  had  no 
time  to  manage  his  "  old  Adam,"  for  whose  deeds  he  denied  all  responsibility. 

The  Plymouth  virus  is  about  exhausted  in  Syria  now,  but  it  has  left  its  brand 
of  spiritual  indifference  and  disorganization  on  all  who  have  fallen  under  its 
influence. 

5.  The  advent  of  50,000  Circassians  to  Syria  at  the  close  of  the  Russian 
war,  was  an  infliction  upon  Syrian  society  which  filled  all  the  people,  native 
and  foreign,  with  alarm.  The  Anglo-Turkish  treaty,  however,  gives  hope 
that  these  wild,  untamed  fanatics  will  be  held  in  check.  Epidemic  diseases 
have  broken  out  among  those  located  in  Northern  Syria,  decimating  their 
ranks.     They  may  yet  form  an  element  of  serious  trouble  in  Syria. 

XII.— SOME   SPECIAL   NEEDS   IN   THE   SYRIA   MISSION. 

1.  Means  to  hold  and  extend  the  work  already  done,  without  the  constant 
necessity  of  retrenchment,  withdrawal,  and  disastrous  reduction  in  the  work. 

2.  A  few  hundred  dollars  as  a  special  fund  to  translate  and  print  books  for 
children.  It  is  pleasant  to  record  the  fact  that  the  Sabbath-school  of  Rev.  R. 
Newton,  rector  of  the  Church  of  the  Epiphany  in  Philadelphia,  has  contrib- 
uted the  money  to  translate  and  print  in  Arabic  two  of  Dr.  Newton's  books 
for  children. 

3.  A  Sunday-school  and  lecture-room  in  Beirut.  This  is  a  very  pressing 
need,  and  will  require  about  $2,000,  which  should  be  raised  without  interfer- 
ing with  the  regular  contributions  to  the  Board. 

4.  Additional  rooms  should  be  built  in  the  Female  Seminary  building  in 
Tripoli,  to  adapt  that  fine  edifice  to  the  needs  of  an  educational  institution. 

5.  Scholarships  for  the  training  of  Protestant  boys  in  the  Beirut  College — 
$100  a  year  will  carry  a  promising  boy  through  the  preparatory  and  college 
course.  The  suspension  of  the  Abeih  Academy  brings  the  college  into  very 
close  connection  with  the  mission,  and  funds  are  needed  to  aid  in  this  impor- 
tant work,  so  vital  to  the  success  of  the  Gospel  in  Syria. 

6.  A  special  fund  of  $200,  to  supply  needed  theological  and  other  books  to 
the  library  of  the  Theological  Seminary  in  Beirut,  and  to  enable  us  to  present 
to  each  graduate  of  the  Theological  Seminary  a  few  select  English  commen- 
taries as  a  help  in  his  work. 

7.  A  communion  service  (plated)  of  four, cups,  two  plates,  and  large  pitcher, 


14 

for  the  Beirut  Church,  that  the  old  "service"  of  that  church,  no  longer  suffi- 
cient for  its  needs,  may  be  given  to  one  of  the  smaller  churches. 


XIII.— SPECIAL   SUBJECTS   OF    PRAYER   IN   CONNECTION    WITH 

THE   SYRIA   MISSION. 

i.  The  missionaries  personally;  that  the  sick  may  be  healed,  and  precious 
lives  be  spared. 

2.  The  opening  of  new  doors  among  the  Mohammedans  and  the  various 
wild  tribes  hitherto  inaccessible,  by  the  removal  of  political,  civil,  and  religious 
obstacles. 

3.  Greater  consecration  on  the  part  of  all  laborers,  native  and  foreign,  and 
especially  the  native  pastors,  preachers,  and  teachers  throughout  the  Empire. 

4.  The  conversion  of  the  educated  youth  of  both  sexes,  and. of  those  now 
in  our  college  and  female  seminaries. 

5.  The  Christian  parents  and  children. 

6.  The  speedy  execution  of  the  reforms  guaranteed  by  the  Anglo-Turkish 
treaty  for  the  physical,  temporal,  and  moral  relief  of  the  suffering  and  the 
oppressed. 

7.  The  Divine  protection  of  the  churches  against  the  Plymouthite  delusion. 

8.  The  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  upon  the  intellectually  enlightened 
in  all  the  Oriental  sects,  especially  those  who  have  read  the  Bible  and  need 
Divine  guidance  to  lead  them  into  all  truth. 

XIV.— GROUNDS   OF   HOPE. 

1.  The  true  piety,  exemplary  lives,  and  benevolent  zeal  of  native  Christians 
throughout  Syria. 

2.  The  number  of  Christian  families,  conducted  on  Christian  principles,  in 
which  the  children  are  being  trained  in  sound  principles,  obedience,  and  intel- 
ligence. 

3.  The  great  number  of  youth  in  evangelical  schools  and  congregations. 

4.  The  change  of  public  sentiment  with  regard  to  Protestant  Christianity 
and  the  value  of  education. 

5.  The  favor  with  which  Mohammedans  regard  Protestant  Christians,  as  a 
truth-loving  and  truth-speaking  people,  and  the  universal  confidence  they  feel 
in  the  English  and  all  others  of  the  same  religion  and  language  as  their  friends, 
and  nearer  than  any  others  to  their  own  faith. 

6.  The  wide  acceptance  and  diffusion  of  the  Arabic  Scriptures. 

7.  The  fact  that  Mohammedans  feel  obliged  to  defend  their  religion  in  writing. 

8.  The  fact  that  through  the  existence  of  the  more  permanent  organized  in- 
stitutions, the  evangelical  churches,  the  church  edifices,  the  colleges,  semina- 
ries, and   printing-presses,  Protestant  Christianity  has  come  to  be  regarded  no 


i5 

longer  as  a  "foreign  faith,"  a  " religio-illicita,"  encamped  for  a  season,  but  as 
an  indigenous  faith,  which  has  come  to  the  East  not  to  sojourn,  but  to  abide 
for  all  time. 

9.  The  extent  to  which  the  Scriptures  and  Christian  literature  are  read  and 
cherished  in  the  homes  of  the  people. 

10.  The  evident  presence  of  the  Divine  Spirit  as  the  seal  and  sanction  of 
the  work  in  days  past,  as  a  work  of  God. 


X  » 


MISSIONS   IN   JAPAN. 


J 

MISSIONS  IN  JAPAN. 


This  name  stands  for  numerous  islands  that  lie  in  the  Pacific  Ocean  and  that 
bend  like  a  crescent  off  the  Asiatic  continent.  It  is  said  that  the  islands  and 
the  islets  may  be  counted  by  the  thousands,  though  the  Empire  consists  mainly 
of  four,  called  Yesso,  Nippon,  Kiushiu,  and  Shikoku.  The  natives  call  their 
country  Dai  Nippon,  or  Great  Japan.  The  area  is  estimated  from  170,000  to 
270,000  square  miles,  and  the  census  of  1873  gives  the  number  of  inhabitants 

at  33>3°o>675- 

The  country  is  broken  into  mountains,  hills,  and  valleys,  and  is  both  fertile 
and  highly  cultivated.  It  is  rich  in  minerals,  especially  gold.  From  the  con- 
formation of  the  islands  there  are  but  few  rivers,  and  these  are  generally  small. 
These  abound  in  fish  as  well  as  the  numerous  bays  and  gulfs  that  indent  the 
islands.  The  climate  is  good  ;  it  is  not  too  sultry  in  summer  nor  too  cold  in 
winter. 

But  what  is  of  special  moment  in  Japan  is  the  people.  They  are  spoken 
of  as  small  in  stature,  industrious,  simple  in  their  tastes,  living  mostly  on  rice 
and  fish.  "  They  seem,"  says  Dr.  Hepburn,  "  to  be  contented  and  happy. 
Social,  merry,  fond  of  amusements,  extremely  polite  to  each  other  and  ob- 
servant of  the  rules  of  etiquette  and  decorum.  As  a  people  they  are  charac- 
terized by  gentleness  of  disposition,  humility  of  mind,  susceptibility  and  read- 
iness to  receive  impressions,  quick  to  perceive  and  ready  to  adopt  anything  for 
their  own  benefit  and  improvement,  having  no  undue  reverence  for  antiquity, 
free  from  excessive  pride,  bigotry,  and  gross  superstitions — in  all  these  respects 
the  very  antipodes  of  the  Chinese.  They  are  also  a  people  of  nic^  feeling, 
spirited,  quick  to  feel  and  redress  an  insult,  courageous,  and  warlike." 

Morally,  they  are  like  other  heathen  nations,  possessing  their  vices,  or  such 
as  are  pictured  in  holy  writ,  and  are  in  no  way  controlled  by  those  principles 
that  belong  peculiarly  to  Christianity.  Their  religion,  however  designated, 
meets  in  no  way  the  wants  of  sinful  humanity  in  harmony  with  the  claims  of 
holiness  and  justice,  or  sends  forth  those  who  embrace  it  upon  a  career  of  pro- 
gressive purity.  It  works  no  renovation  of  soul,  or  creates  any  new  principle 
of  action,  so  that  it  is  not  adapted  to  transform,  to  elevate,  or  to  save. 

The  Ainos,  or  aborigines  of  the  country,  are  still  found  in  portions  of  Japan. 
They  keep  apart  from  the  Japanese  in  their  own  villages,  and  remain  distinct 
in  religion,  language,  and  mode  of  life.  Neither  Buddhism  nor  Shintooism  is 
known  among  them.  Their  religion  consists  in  the  worship  of  spirits  and  ob- 
jects of  nature,  without  any  priesthood  or  any  distinctive  forms  of  service. 
Their  language  has  never  been  reduced  to  writing,  so  that  they  have  no  liter- 
ature.    This  people  are  few  in  number. 


4  Missions  in  Japan. 

The  Japanese  are,  in  part,  of  the  Aino  stock.  The  conquerors  or  colonists 
from  the  mainland  gradually  obtained  possession  of  the  country,  and  their 
history  shows  that  they  have  had  their  bloody  wars,  changes  in  government, 
or  dynasties,  and  progress  in  civilization.  The  Chinese  in  the  past  have  ex- 
erted a  great  influence  over  these  islands.  Their  literature,  manners  and 
customs,  and  manufactures  are  largely  Chinese.  '  Society  is  divided  into  four 
great  classes — the  military,  the  agricultural,  the  mercantile,  and  the  mechanic. 
"Besides  these,"  says  Dr.  Hepburn,  "are  the  doctors  and  priests,  who  rank 
between  the  patrician  and  farmer  and  the  Yeta,  who  are  considered  outcasts 
and  polluted.  These  social  lines  are  very  distinctly  drawn,  amounting  almost 
to  caste."  The  military  or  patrician  class,  whilst  constituting  but  a  small  part 
of  the  population,  have  exercised  a  dominant  influence  over  the  nation,  and 
many  of  the  recent  changes  in  the  country  have  been  initiated  by  them. 

Japan,  from  her  isolated  position,  her  exclusive  policy,  her  dread  of  foreign 
interierence,  and  her  unwillingness  to  enter  into  the  family  of  nations  for  com- 
mercial purposes,  had  prevented,  for  more  than  two  centuries,  all  missionary 
work  on  her  soil.  If  any  one  thing  controlled  this  policy  it  was  that  no  foreign 
Christian  evangelist  should  labor  among  the  people.  Their  hatred  to  Christi- 
anity was  real  and  intense,  and  it  is  necessary  to  consider  this  feeling  as  among 
the  obstacles  to  the  reception  of  the  truth. 

HINDRANCES. 

It  is  a  sad  thing  to  place  the  conduct  of  professed  Christian  missionaries  in 
the  past  as  an  effective  bar  to  present  evangelistic  effort,  and  yet  this  has  been 
the  case  in  Japan.  Confounding  Romish  superstition  with  a  pure  Christianity, 
and  the  acts  of  Jesuit  priests  with  the  teachings  of  the  Bible,  they  were  un- 
willing to  open  their  gates  to  those  who  might  plot  against  the  Government  or 
seek  to  place  the  people  under  the  authority  of  Rome,  and  when  the  country 
was  thrown  open  it  was  with  all  the  edicts  against  Christianity  in  full  force  and 
placed  in  conspicuous  places  for  the  people  to  see  and  to  understand.  With 
the  masses  Popery  and  Christianity  are  identical. 

When  Xavier  entered  Japan,  in  1549,  there  were  no  such  restrictions  upon 
his  movements.  Coming  as  the  herald  of  a  new  faith,  he  and  his  associates 
were  allowed  to  travel  wherever  they  pleased.  Soon,  from  one  cause  or  an- 
other, converts  were  baptized.  His  successors  were  as  zealous  for  the  faith, 
but  not  so  discreet.  Political  power  and  worldly  policy  shaped  largely  their 
action,  which  led  to  intrigues  and  plottings  against  the  Government.  These 
aroused  opposition  of  both  princes  and  priests  and  led  to  severe  and  retaliatory 
measures,  which  culminated  in  bitter  and  relentless  persecution.  The  Japanese 
arose  in  their  might,  determined  to  crush  out  every  vestige  of  Christianity,  and 
to  do  this  the  more  effectually  they  "  withdrew  their  nation  from  all  intercourse 
with  their  fellow-men  and  sealed  Japan  hermetically  against  the  nations  of  the 
earth."  Laws  were  passed  with  the  simple  object  of  extirpating  the  religion 
of  Jesus,  and  death  was  the  penalty  to  any  who  embraced  it.     The  people 


Missions  in  Japan.  5 

were  everywhere  brought  up  with  this  hatred  to  the  name  and  religion  of 
Christ.  So  that  when  missionaries  appeared  after  the  opening  of  the  country, 
it  was  to  meet  this  opposition  and  to  see  the  tablets  wherever  they  went — "  The 
Christian  sect  is  prohibited  as  it  has  been  hitherto."  Though  these  tablets 
have  mostly  disappeared,  still  there  has  been  no  formal  reversal  of  their  former 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  authorities,  and  no  declaration  of  religious  toleration. 
In  such  a  state  of  things  there  must  necessarily  be  suspicion  or  indifference 
on  the  part  of  the  people  and  much  hostility  on  that  of  the  priesthood. 

BUDDHISM    AND    SHINTOOISM. 

The  ruling  religions  of  the  Empire  are  Buddhism  and  Shintooism.  The 
former  is  the  religion  of  the  masses ;  the  latter  is  that  of  the  State,  and  of  the 
cultured.  Buddhism,  from  the  number  of  its  adherents,  is  strong,  popular,  and 
defiant.  Shintooism  is  propagated  by  the  Government,  and  decided  efforts  are 
put  forth  to  increase  its  influence  and  the  number  of  its  votaries.  If  the  one 
has  been  weakened  by  official  interference,  the  other  has  made  little  advance 
in  spite  of  patronage  and  power.  Their  hold,  however,  upon  the  people  is 
very  strong.  They  have  much  on  which  the  natural  heart  can  feed,  and  little  to 
purify  and  ennoble  heart  and  life.  Merit  is  a  cardinal  principle  in  both  sys- 
tems. If  the  one  teaches  that  the  highest  happiness  is  utter  absorption  of 
being  and  personality  in  the  Supreme,  the  other  sets  forth  no  doctrine  of  im- 
mortality or  of  hope  beyond  the  grave.  If  the  one  is  fitly  described  as 
"  Roman  Catholicism  without  Christ  and  in  Asiatic  form,"  the  other  lays  down 
no  precepts,  inculcates  no  dogmas,  and  prescribes  no  ritual.  "  Shintoo  in  its 
higher  forms,"  says  Mr.  Griffis,  "is  simply  a  cultured  and  intellectual  atheism. 
In  its  lowest  forms  it  is  blind  obedience  to  Governmental  and  priestly  dictates." 
Its  great  excellency  is  that  it  is  good  to  keep  alive  patriotism  among  the  peo- 
ple. Buddhism  is  a  system  of  negations  as  to  truths,  and  positive  in  its  ritual 
as  to  prayers,  masses,  and  merit.  It  has  done  much  for  Japan  as  an  aggressive 
faith,  but  as  a  regenerating,  spiritual  power  it  has  had  no  influence.  It  can 
not  revolutionize  man's  ideas  of  himself  and  of  his  God ;  start  him  upon  a 
new  career  of  being  and  link  him  with  the  holy.  This  is  the  prerogative  of 
Christianity  alone. 

There  are  numerous  sects  of  Buddhists  in  Japan.  Mr.  Griffis,  in  his  "  Mi- 
kado's Empire,"  mentions  seven,  with  many  irregular  or  independent  classes 
that  have  no  relations  to  each  other,  but  all  in  some  way  or  other  prey  upon 
the  people — all  these  are  incapable  of  regenerating  Japan.  The  morals  of  the 
people  are  low.  Vice  abounds,  and  though  woman  occupies  a  position  not 
accorded  to  her  in  many  pagan  lands,  yet  when  contrasted  with  the  social  ele- 
vation and  status  of  her  sister  in  Christian  lands,  it  is  low  indeed.  "  In  the 
eye  of  Buddhist  dogma,  ecclesiastical  law  and  monkish  asceticism,  woman  is 
but  a  temptation,  a  snare,  an  unclean  thing,  a  scape-goat,  an  obstacle  to  peace 
and  holiness.  Shintoo  seems  to  accord  her  a  higher  place,  but  Shintoo  can 
never  sway  the  mind  and  heart  of  modern  Japanese  people." 


6  Missions  in   "Japan. 

CONDUCT   OF    CHRISTIANS. 

This  is  a  great  drawback  to  evangelistic  work.  How  it  operates  upon  the 
people  is  shown  by  a  native  writer,  who  expresses  the  following  opinion  in  the 
11  Japanese  in  America  :  " 

"  The  conduct  of  foreigners,  excepting  some  of  the  better  class  of  mission- 
aries and  a  few  laymen,  is  a  very  shame  to  the  name  of  Christianity  and  civil- 
ization, and  retards  the  progress  of  both.  They  do  not  pay  the  prices  of 
things  they  buy,  and  even  the  boat  fares  required  of  them  ;  but  no  sooner  do 
they  observe  a  shadow  of  discontent  in  the  face  of  the  person  who  demands 
it  than  the  heavy  cane  is  over  his  head.  At  home  such  behavior  would  be 
properly  chastised  by  indictment  for  assault  and  battery,  but  in  the  Eastern 
countries  the  European  tyrants  are  under  the  protection  of  guns  and  powder  ; 
moreover,  of  that  sacred  cross  of  St.  George,  or  the  tricolor.  So  that  whenever 
thev  treat  a  native  outrageously,  if  he  does  not  lose  his  senses  he  would  keep 
his  ano-er  to  himself,  because  if  he  resent  it  the  fate  of  his  darling  country 
would  be  endangered  even  by  the  loss  of  a  single  hair  of  theirs.  There  is  no 
mystery  in  the  fact  that  Christianity  has  not  made  any  considerable  progress 
beyond  Europe,  when  we  know  that  those  Christians  who  go  out  to  foreign 
countries  behave  themselves  worse  than  the  heathen,  or  at  least  no  better  than 
they.  First  of  all,  they  are  the  slaves  of  Mammon,  go  to  houses  of  ill-repute, 
swear  without  almost  any  cause,  insult  the  natives,  kick  and  beat  them,  and 
behave  as  haughtily  as  Julius  Caesar.  Moreover,  these  things  take  place  on 
Sunday  more  than  on  any  other  day  of  the  week,  because  on  other  days  they 
have  things  of  more  material  interest  to  attend  to." 

It  is  this  «class  who  largely  decry  missions,  speak  slightingly  of  what  has  been 
done,  tell  large  stories  of  the  style  and  splendor  of  missionary  life,  and  in  va- 
rious ways  seek  to  injure  the  cause,  and  there  are  not  a  few  who  are  influenced 
by  their  statements  and  receive  them  more  readily  than  if  they  came  from 
those  who  are  in  the  fullest  accord  with  missions  and  who  are  seeking  to  ben- 
efit the  people,  socially  and  spiritually. 

We  might  refer  to  other  hindrances  that  are  found  in  Japan,  but  they  are 
connected  with  their  systems  of  faith  or  their  habits  of  life,  which  furnish  sad 
evidence  of  defective  morality  ;  but  it  is  painful  to  think  that  whilst  heathenism 
has  erected  one  barrier  to  the  truth,  a  nominal  or  corrupt  Christianity  has 
reared  another  to  the  progress  of  the  pure  principles  of  the  Gospel,  and  that 
this  should  be  so  influential  in  keeping  the  heathen  from  an  investigation  of 
the  claims  of  Divine  truth,  or  from  coming  into  contact  with  it. 

ENCOURAGEMENTS. 

The  first  of  these  is  that  Japan  is  open.  The  people  are  now  accessible  to 
the  truth.  In  1639,  after  a  long  and  fearful  persecution,  the  Portuguese  were 
expelled  from  the  coast,  and  after  aiming  to  destroy  every  vestige  of  Christi- 
anity, the  country  was  closed  to  every  foreign  nation  except  the  Dutch,  who 
enjoyed,  on  a  small  islet,  certain,  limited  commercial  privileges.     For  more 


Missions  in  Japan.  7 

than  two  hundred  years,  or  till  1858,  this  state  of  things  continued,  but  when 
the  Church  was,  in  some  measure,  prepared  for  aggressive  action,  the  doors 
were  thrown  open,  and  now  city  after  city  has  been  occupied  by  the  mission- 
ary of  the  Cross,  and  that  Name  which  was  periodically  trampled  on  by  the 
people  and  despised  by  the  rulers,  is  again  proclaimed  as  the  Saviour  of  the 
perishing  and  the  Lord  of  glory,  and  by  those  who  wish  to  exalt  Him  alone  in 
the  eyes  of  the  nation.  Though  religious  toleration  has  not  been  proclaimed 
by  edict,  it  is  enjoyed  by  all ;  though  the  whole  land  is  not  accessible  to  the 
missionary,  more  people  are  than  can  be  reached  by  the  representatives  of  the 
Church.     This  is  a  wonderful  gain  for  the  truth  and  all  which  it  demands. 

A  second  encouragement  is  the  attitude  of  the  native  mind  as  to  improve- 
ments and  progress.  Though  the  last  to  come  within  the  comity  of  nations, 
no  country  has,  within  the  last  twenty  years,  made  such  rapid  strides.  Revo- 
lutions in  government  and  in  modes  of  life  and  thought  have  been  marked  and 
wonderful.  The  whole  mystery  that  surrounded  the  Mikado  has  disappeared, 
and  he  is  now,  not  in  name,  but  in  reality,  the  lawful  Sovereign  of  the  land. 
The  Tycoon,  who  assumed  his  prerogatives  as  a  military  ruler,  has  disappeared  ; 
the  feudal  aristocracy — the  Daimios — have  surrendered  their  rights  and  power 
and  have  no  longer  a  controlling  voice  in  the  affairs  of  the  nation.  The  whole 
form  of  the  Government  has  been  remodelled  in  accordance  with  that  of  Chris- 
tian nations,  as  well  as  their  whole  judiciary  system.  The  changes  in  every 
department  have  been  most  marked  and  rapid.  These  have  been  well  sum- 
marized by  Dr.  Hepburn,  as  follows  : 

"  The  Emperor,  who  was  a  few  years  ago  so  sacred  a  personage  that  even 
the  highest  Daimio  of  the  land  was  unworthy  to  behold,  or  approach  within  a 
certain  distance  of  him,  now  rides  out  openly,  reviews  his  troops,  opens  rail- 
ways, visits  ships  of  war,  and  even  walks  out  with  only  a  few  attendants,  his 
people  not  being  compelled  to  kneel  down  when  he  passes. 

"  They  have  thrown  aside  the  bow  and  arrow,  the  spear,  sword,  shield,  and 
armor,  for  the  most  improved  implements  of  modern  warfare,  organizing,  cloth- 
ing, and  drilling  their  army  according  to  the  European  mode. 

"  They  have  organized  a  small  navy  of  eight  or  ten  steamships  of  war,  two 
of  them  iron-clads  ;  all  manned  by  Japanese  sailors,  and  engineered  and  nav- 
igated, with  perhaps  one  or  two  exceptions,  by  native  officers. 

"They  have  constructed,  under  the  superintendence  of  foreigners,  a  dock 
hewn  out  of  the  solid  rock,  for  repairing  ships  of  the  largest  class,  and  inferior 
to  few  in  the  world  for  size,  perfection  of  finish,  and  equipment,  with  every 
modern  appliance  and  invention. 

"  They  have  workshops  thoroughly  furnished  with  all  kinds  of  machinery  of 
the  most  approved  kind  for  building  ships,  steamers,  and  steam  engines,  and 
making  cannon  and  arms  of  all  kinds,  also  for  making  clothes,  shoes,  knap- 
sacks, saddles,  and  military  accoutrements. 

"  They  have  constructed  a  railway  from  Yedo  to  Yokohama,  and  are  laying 
out  others. 


8  Missions  in  Japan. 

"  They  have  a  telegraph  laid  from  Yedo  to  Nagasaki,  which  communicates 
also  with  the  rest  of  the  world.  They  have  erected  lighthouses  upon  most  of 
the  dangerous  points  of  their  coast. 

"  They  have  printing-presses  and  a  type  foundry,  several  daily  newspapers, 
and  are  busy  in  preparing  and  publishing  dictionaries,  vocabularies,  phrase- 
books,  and  grammars  of  several  of  the  European  languages,  besides  trans- 
lating and  preparing  books  on  medicine,  law,  political  economy,  moral  philos- 
ophy, natural  philosophy,  history,  chemistry,  astronomy,  mathematics,  and 
other  subjects. 

"They  have  introduced  the  decimal  system  of  coinage,  have  erected  a  mint 

furnished  with   the  best  machinery,  and  coin  gold,  silver,  and  copper  coin. 

They  issue  Government  paper  money,  and   are  establishing  national  banks, 

■   are  borrowing  money  from   England,  and  have  a  very  respectable  national 

debt. 

"  They  are  changing  their  style  of  building,  adapting  them  to  European 
models,  and  are  introducing  the  European  costume,  furniture,  mode  of  wearing 
the  hair,  and  diet ;  also  the  use  of  carriages  and  wagons  in  Yedo  and  other 
places  where  their  roads  will  permit. 

"They  have  introduced  a  regular  postal  system,  and  use  postage  stamps. 

"They  have  conformed  their  calendar  to  the  European,  commencing  the 
year  with  the  first  of  January. 

"  They  have  suppressed  two-thirds  of  the  Buddhist  temples,  seized  their 
property  and  revenues,  severed  all  state  connection  with  either  Buddhism  or 
Shintooism,  and  promulgated  as  a  new  creed,  and  all  that  is  required  of  their 
people,  viz.,  to  fear  God,  honor  the  king,  and  love  their  country,  obey  the  laws 
of  nature,  and  discharge  the  relative  duties. 

"They  have  established  almshouses  for  the  poor,  and  hospitals  in  many  parts 
of  the  country,  where  also  medical  instruction  is  given. 

"  They  have  established  academies  or  colleges  for  a  higher  education  in 
most  of  the  open  ports  and  various  other  places,  and  are  organizing  common 
schools  all  over  the  country. 

"  They  have  abolished  caste,  and  relieved  the  Yetas  from  all  their  disabilities, 
giving  them  all  the  privileges  of  citizenship. 

"They  have  forbidden  the  promiscuous  bathing  together  of  the  two  sexes, 
no  longer  license  prostitution,  and  enacted  laws  against  all  indecent  behavior. 

u  They  shut  up  their  custom-houses  and  all  the  public  offices  on  the  Sabbath- 
day,  and  observe  it  as  a  day  of  rest  or  holiday  ;  they  have  also  begun  to  re- 
move the  edict  against  Christianity  from  many  places  in  which  it  has  been  long 
placarded,  have  restored  persecuted  Christians  to  their  homes,  and  abolished 
the  office  of  Censor  ;  and  what  more,  it  might  be  asked,  do  they  need,  but  to 
have  the  Gospel  freely  preached  amongst  them  ?     This  will  come  in  due  time." 

Another  encouraging  feature  is  the  rapid  spread  of  knowledge  throughout 
the  country.  Schools  are  already  established  in  all  parts  of  the  land  ;  boys  and 
girls  are  studying  with  the  help  of  all   the  improvements  common   in  the  best 


Missions  in  Japan.  9 

schools  in  this  country  and  Europe,  and  in  books  translated  from  standard  Amer- 
ican text-books.   Normal  Training-schools  have  been  begun  in  leading  cities.  Be- 
sides Government-schools,  there  are  private  educational  institutions  under  the 
care  of  native  school-masters  and  missionary  societies,  that  are  well  patronized. 
A  college  for  the  education  of  young  men  in  foreign  languages  and  in  sciences 
has  been  established,  that  is  sending  forth  interpreters,  teachers,  and  others  to 
fill  important  places  in  the  State.     A  Board  of  Translation  has  been  organized, 
that  is  translating,  into  Japanese,  leading  works  of  different  foreign  authors. 
Some  of  the  prominent  youth  of  the  nation  have  been  educated  in  specialties 
in  our  own  and  other  countries,  who  have  returned  to  their  own  land,  and  are 
communicating  to  others  the  friflts  of  their  training.     Some  of  these  have  car- 
ried back  with  them  a  saving  knowledge  of  Divine  truths  and  are  living  Chris- 
tian lives.     To  help  on  this  diffusion   of  knowledge  is  a  free  press  which  is 
making  itself  felt  and  which  speaks  with  a  boldness  and  freedom  that  are  as- 
tonishing.    This,  of  course,  is  not  an  unmixed  good.     Some  have  uttered  senti- 
ments that  were  loose  in  the  extreme  and,  in  some  cases,  liberty  has  degenera- 
ted into  license.     Others  have  kept  within  bounds  and  have  sought  to  educate 
and  to  lead  the  popular  mind  into  right  ways  of  thought  and  of  action.  Among  the 
subjects  freely  discussed  has  been  that  of  Christianity  and  liberty  of  conscience 
in  all  matters  of  religion.     In  one  of  the  native  newspapers,  a  writer  says: 
"There  is  nothing  better  than  Christianity  to  aid  in  the  advancement  of  the 
world,  but  there  are  sects  which  are  injurious  as  well  as  sects  that  are  bene- 
ficial.    The  best  mode  of  advancing  our  country  is  to  introduce  the  most  free 
and  enlightened  form  of  Christianity,  and  have  it  diffused  among  our  people. 
How  would  it  answer  to  bring  over  teachers  of  such  a  form  of  Christianity  and 
allow  them  to  educate  our  people  in  the  same  way  that  we  employ  foreign  in- 
structors of  different  sciences  in  our  various  Government  departments  ?  "     An- 
other writer  says  :     "  The  faith  of  a  people  can  only  be  formed  by  their  hearts, 
and  it  seems,  therefore,  improper  for  the  Government  to  dictate  to  them  which 
form  of  faith  is  right,  and  which  wrong,  and  what  they  shall  do,  and  what  not 
do  on  this  subject.     It  would  be  better  for  the  Government  to  permit  the  peo- 
ple to  worship  God  as  they  please,  provided  that  in  doing  so  they  do  not  vio- 
late the  laws  of  the  country."     One  who  wields  great  influence  in  the  nation, 
says  :     "  The  true  duty  of  a  Government  is  the  protection  of  life  and  property, 
and  that  men  should  be  left  free  to  believe  what  they  like,  provided  their  belief 
entails  no  injury  upon  others."     These  extracts  are  given  to  show  that  the  in- 
telligent of  the  people  are  strong  advocates  of  religious  liberty. 

Another  encouraging  sign  is  the  increasing  number  of  Japanese  who  have 
been  baptized.  The  attempts  to  keep  the  people  from  considering  the  claims 
of  Christianity  have  been  futile.  The  Bible  has  been  largely  sold  in  Chinese. 
The  portions  of  the  Scriptures  already  issued  in  Japanese  have  met  with  a 
ready  sale.  The  spirit  of  inquiry  is  rife  in  places.  Many  churches  have  been 
organized,  and  those  who  have  united  with  them  have  been  generally  from  the 
middle  walks  of  life.     A  large  number  of  Christian  youth  are  preparing  them- 


io  Missions  in  Japan. 

selves  for  evangelists,  and  steadily  is  the  leaven  of  truth  spreading  from  the 
leading  centers  into  the  country,  and  works  on  religious  subjects  are  carried 
and  read  far  into  the  interior.  At  first,  the  Government  tried  to  interfere  and 
repress  these  efforts  of  conversion,  but,  after  considering  the  same,  the  conclu- 
sion was  reached  that  it  would  be  neither  wise  nor  safe  to  make  the  attempt. 
The  surveillance  at  first  kept  up  on  the  movement  of  foreigners  has  also  been 
removed,  and  now  the  fullest  liberty  is  enjoyed  on  the  part  of  those  who  wish 
to  profess  their  faith  in  Christ.     This  number  is  steadily  increasing. 

OUR    MISSION. 

The  Board  was  anxious  to  establish  a  mission  as  early  as  possible  in  Japan. 
In  the  report  of  1855,  it  is  stated  that  one  of  the  missionaries  in  China  had 
been  requested  to  visit  that  country  and  to  investigate  matters  preparatory  to 
commencing  missionary  work.      He  was  unable  to  go,  and  nothing  was  done 
until  1859,  when  James  C.  Hepburn,  M.D.,  and  his  wife  sailed  for  Japan.     Dr. 
Hepburn  had  formerly  been  a  missionary  in  China,  and  was  obliged  to  abandon 
the  work  on  account  of  the  health  of  Mrs.  Hepburn.     With  her  health  re- 
stored and  with  a  call  to  begin  a  new  mission  in  an  untried  country,  he  gave 
up   a  remunerating  professional  practice  in   New  York  city  and  sailed  April 
24th,  for  Shanghai,  arriving  there  in  due  season.     They  reached  Japan  in  No- 
vember, and  settled  at  Kanagawa,  on  the  bay  of  Yedo,  and  a  few  miles  below 
the  city  of  Yedo.     This  town  contained  at  that  time  about  5,000  inhabitants, 
and  consisted  mainly  of  one  street,  about  25  feet  in  width.     The  people  were 
mainly  poor,  dependent  upon  their  labor.     Their  residences  were  also  poor, 
built  principally  of  timber  and  boards.     Here  a  Buddhist  temple  was  obtained 
as  a  place  of  residence.     The  idols  were  removed,  and  for  a  time  it  was  con- 
verted into  a  Christian  church,  as  divine  service  was  held  here.     The  study  of 
the  language  received  their  immediate  attention,  and  as  soon  as  he  could,  the 
Doctor  commenced  his  professional  labors,  to  open  up  a  way  to  the  homes  and 
hearts    of  the   people.     Whilst   visiting  his   patients,  he    distributed  religious 
tracts  and  books.    A  hinderance  to  labor  arose  from  the  strict  surveillance  that 
was  kept  over  him  and  other  foreigners  by  the  Government.     The  common 
people  were  disposed  to  be  friendly,  but  the  ruling  classes  were  jealous  of  for- 
eigners, and  were  averse  to  any  intercourse  with  them.     The  Doctor  and  his 
family   continued  to    live    at  Kanagawa  until  the   close   of  1862,  when   they 
moved  across  the  bay  to  Yokohama.     This  was  deemed  necessary  on  account 
of  the  opposition  of  the  authorities  to  the  residence  of  foreigners  at  that  place, 
and  to  their  willingness  and  desire  that  they  should  live  at  Yokohama.     This 
may,  therefore,  be  considered  as  the  first  station  of  the  Board. 

Yokohama. — A  few  months  after  the  removal  of  the  missionaries  to  Yoko- 
hama, Rev.  David  Thompson  arrived  (May,  1863).  The  way  to  commence 
open  evangelistic  work  among  the  people  was  not  open,  though  the  oppor- 
tunity to  teach  some  young  men  and  to  attend  upon  patients  at  the  dispensary 
was  seized  upon.     The  country  was  at  this  time  in  a  disturbed  state,  owing  to 


Missions  in  Japan.  1 1 

civil  war.  Dr.  Hepburn  opened  a  school  for  boys,  which  was  well  attended. 
These  and  kindred  efforts  were  continued  for  years,  without  the  laborers  seeing 
any  fruits  in  the  way  of  conversion.  Gradually,  they  saw  the  opposition  to 
their  work  give  way  on  the  part  of  the  authorities,  and  with  this  they  found 
a  broader  field  for  toil.  Dr.  Hepburn  had  spent  a  portion  of  his  time  in  pre- 
paring a  Japanese  and  English  Dictionary,  which,  when  completed  and  pub- 
lished in  1867,  contained  over  20,000  Japanese  words.'  This  work  was  not 
only  greatly  needed,  but  has  been  of  great  service  to  others  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  the  language.  In  February,  1869,  Mr.  Thompson  was  privileged  to 
baptize  three  Japanese  converts,  two  of  whom  were  men  of  good  education 
and  abilities,  and  the  third  was  an  aged  woman.  This  was  done  when  the 
death  penalty  had  not  been  abolished,  but  they  were  not  disturbed  by  the  au- 
thorities. A  new  dispensary  had  been  procured  through  the  liberality  of  some 
of  the  foreign  residents,  and  it  has  been  a  center  for  spiritual  influences 
through  the  work  done  in  it,  both  medical  and  religious. 

This  mission  was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Edward  Cornes  and 
his  wife  in  June,  1868.  Their  career  was  a  short  one.  On  August  1,  1870, 
while  they  and  their  two  children  had  stepped  aboard  the  steamer  City  of 
Yedo,  to  go  to  Yokohama  from  the  capital,  the  boiler  exploded,  and  all  but 
the  little  babe  were  instantly  killed.  They  were  buried  August  3d  in  one 
grave  at  Yokohama.  This  was  a  heavy  blow  to  the  mission,  as  much  was  ex- 
pected from  their  services.  Mr.  Cornes  was  temporarily  in  Government  em- 
ploy as  a  teacher  at  the  time  of  his  death.  Rev.  Henry  Loomis  and  his  wife 
arrived  at  Yokohama  in  June,  1872,  and  Rev.  J.  Rothesay  Miller  in  July  of 
the  same  year.  The  former  were  obliged,  by  the  failure  of  Mr.  Loomis'  health, 
to  return  to  this  country  more  than  a  year  ago  ;  the  latter,  after  some  time, 
married  a  lady  in  connection  with  the  mission  of  the  Reformed  Church,  and 
for  reasons  he  deemed  satisfactory,  he  was  transferred  to  the  care  of  that  mis- 
sion. Rev.  O.  M.  Green  arrived  in  1873,  and  Mr.  J.  Ballagh  and  his  wife  joined 
this  station  in  1875,  living  at  the  time  in  Yokohama.  A  few  months  ago,  Miss 
Belle  Marsh  sailed  from  this  country,  and  will  take  charge  of  the  girls'  school  at 
that  place.  This  school  has  long  been  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Hepburn,  and  has 
an  average  attendance  of  30.  The  church  now  numbers  about  50,  sixteen  of 
whom  were  received  the  last  year.  Dr.  Hepburn  spends  most  of  his  time  in 
translating  the  Scriptures,  though  he  spends  one  day  in  his  Dispensary  each 
week.     The  number  of  patients  treated  by  him  the  past  year  was  6,110. 

TOKIO. 

This  city  was,  until  lately,  called  Yedo.  It  was  settled  in  the  second  cen- 
tury, and  has  been  regarded  by  many  as  die  of  the  largest  cities  in  the  world. 
It  was  until  recently  the  residence  of  the  Tycoon.  On  his  overthrow  the 
Mikado  moved  from  Kioto  to  Yedo,  and  changed  its  name  to  Tokio,  which 
means  eastern  capital.  This  city  is  situated  at  the  head  of  the  bay  of  Yedo. 
The  river  O-oko  flows   through  it,  which  is  spanned  by  numerous  bridges. 


12  Missions  tn  Japan. 

Here  is  Nihon  Bashi  (Bridge  of  Japan),  whence,  it  is  said,  all  the  great  roads 
of  the  Empire  are  measured.  The  city  consists  of  three  parts,  (i).  The 
citadel,  or  castle,  about  five  miles  in  circuit,  is  situated  near  the  center. 
(2).  The  part  outside  the  citadel,  which  was  occupied  by  the  families  of  the 
princes.  (3).  The  commercial  or  industrial  part.  The  section  occupied  by 
foreigners  lies  along  the  bay,  and  is  called  Tsukiji  (Skeeje).  In  this  portion 
are  the  mission  premises  of  the  Board,  consisting  of  dwellings,  girls'  boarding- 
school,  chapel,  etc.  This  city  was  occupied  by  Rev.  D.  Thompson  and  Rev. 
C.  Carrothers  and  his  wife  in  1869.  Mr.  Carrothers  arrived  in  Japan  in  July 
of  the  same  year.  They  were  followed  by  Mr.  Cornes,  and  after  his  death 
Mr.  Thompson  took  his  place  in  the  school  for  a  short  time.  Mr.  Carrothers, 
whilst  studying  the  language,  taught  a  class  of  some  twenty-five  young  men. 
In  1873  ^ss  Rate  M.  Youngman  and  Miss  A.  M.  Gamble  joined  this  station. 
A  boarding-school  for  girls  was  opened  by  the  former.  A  girls'  school  was 
also  taught  by  Mrs.  Carrothers,  which  has  exerted  considerable  influence.  It  is 
now  under  the  charge  of  Mrs.  True,  who  became  connected  with  the  mission 
in  1876.  It  is  nominally  managed  by  Mr.  Hara,  a  Japanese  gentleman.  Miss 
Mary  C.  Parke  joined  this  station  in  1873.  She  was  afterward  married  to 
Mr.  Thompson.  A  church  was  organized  in  1874,  16  were  received  on  pro- 
fession of  their  faith  and  7  by  letter.  There  were  at  this  time  54  members  in 
connection  with  the  two  churches,  and  from  them  8  young  men  applied  to  be 
taken  under  the  care  of  presbytery.  When  Mr.  Carrothers  left  the  mission, 
Rev.  O.  M.  Green  was  transferred  from  Yokohama  to  Tokio  to  take  charge 
of  the  church.  Rev.  W.  Imbrie  and  his  wife  arrived  at  this  station  the  latter 
part  of  1875.  Miss  Frances  Gulick  being  in  Japan,  has  been  appointed  a 
teacher  in  the  Girls'  Boarding-school.  This  school  has  now  32  pupils,  and  is 
doing  a  good  work.  The  other  school,  in  a  different  part  of  the  city,  under 
the  care  of  Mrs.  True,  has  28  pupils.  In  both  of  these  institutions  the  relig- 
ious element  is  prominent,  and  a  number  have  been  received  into  the  church. 
The  church  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  Thompson  numbers  Hi, 
according  to  the  last  report  ;  43  of  these  were  admitted  during  the  year. 
The  church  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Green  numbers  between  70  and  80.  A 
new  church  has  been  organized  at  Omori,  as  will  be  seen  from  Mr.  Green's 
letter,  making  some  six  churches  ministered  to  by  our  missionaries.  In  these 
are  a  membership  of  nearly  300. 

Three  new  missionaries,  with  their  wives  and  an  unmarried  lady,  are  under 
appointment,  and  will  soon  sail  for  Japan. 

There  are  at  present  12  missionary  societies  (7  American  and  5  British)  at 
work  in  this  Empire.  These  have  46  ordained  missionaries,  S  missionary 
physicians,  and  over  1,000  communicants.  There  are  about  40  students  for 
the  ministry.  Besides  the  number  baptized,  there  are  many  who  may  be 
termed  inquirers.     The  field  is,  on  the  whole,  a  most  encouraging  one. 


s. 


'MISSIONS 


AMONG  THE 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS 


MISSIONS 


AMONG  THE 


NORTH  AMERICAN  INDIANS. 


It  is  a  painful  thought  that  though  the  Aborigines  of  this  country  (United 
States)  have  been  in  contact  with  a  Christian  nation,  and  in  places  surrounded 
for  a  long  period  by  religious  influences,  so  many  are  yet  ignorant  of  Chris- 
tianity, or  are  in  no  way  controlled  by  its  principles.  The  Commissioner  of 
Indian  Affairs,  in  his  report  for  1874,  thus  classified  the  different  tribes  :  (1). 
Those  that  are  wild  and  scarcely  tractable  to  any  extent  beyond  that  of  coming 
near  enough  to  the  Government  agent  to  receive  rations  and  blankets,  98,108. 
(2).  Indians  who  are  thoroughly  convinced  of  the  necessity  of  labor,  and  are 
actually  undertaking  it,  and  with  more  or  less  readiness  accept  the  direction 
and  assistance  of  Government  agents  to  this  end,  52,113.  (3).  Indians  who 
have  come  into  possession  of  allotted  lands  and  other  property  in  stock  and 
implements  belonging  to  a  landed  estate,  100,085.  This  third  class  is  the 
most  advanced  in  civilization,  and  the  Indians  have  attained  their  present  con- 
dition chiefly  through  missionary  effort.  Besides  these  three  classes,  is  a  fourth, 
called  roamers  or  vagrants,  numbering  about  14,000,  who  have  no  settled 
home,  but  live  as  they  can.  These  are  low  down  in  the  social  scale.  These 
various  classes  give  only  a  total  of  264,306  ;  others  make  the  number  as  high 
as  297,000.  In  a  report  to  the  Secretary  of  War  in  1820,  the  number  was 
estimated  at  471,136,  which,  if  correct  then,  shows  a  great  decrease.  This 
diminution  is  not  true,  however,  of  all  the  tribes,  as  several  of  the  civilized  have 
increased  since  they  were  placed  on  reservations. 

THEIR    CLAIMS    UPON    OUR    CHURCHES. 

They  come  within  the  sweep  of  the  divine  command.  They  are  included 
in  it.  Involved  in  the  fall,  they  need  equally  with  others  the  benefits  of  re- 
demption. But  independent  of  their  lost  estate,  and  of  their  possible  recovery 
through  the  Lord  Jesus,  they  stand  in  a  peculiar  relation  to  the  churches  of  this 
land  and  to  the  nation  itself,  and  this  intensifies  their  claims  :  (1).  This  country 
was  originally  theirs.  The  early  settlers  found  their  fathers  in  possession,  who 
claimed  the  country  over  which  they  roamed.  No  other  people  had  an  equal 
title  to  it,  and  if  any  has  been  assumed  since,  it  arises  from  other  considera- 
tions than  what  the  first  colonists  could  assert.  The  first  settlers  acted  on  this 
principle,  and  purchased  their  lands  from  the  Indians.    These  in  turn  welcomed 


Missions   Among  the 


& 


the  white  man,  and  treated  him  with  kindness.  Rev.  Dr.  Trumbull,  in  his 
"  History  of  the  United  States,"  says  :  "  In  Virginia,  the  Indians  carried  them 
on  shore  upon  their  backs,  that  they  might  not  wet  themselves  in  wading  from 
their  boats  ;  they  washed  their  clothes,  and  even  their  feet,  and  feasted  them 
in  the  best  manner  of  which  they  were  capable.  The  writers  of  those  times 
say:  'a  more  kind  and  loving  people  can  not  be.'  In  New  England,  they 
taught  them  how  to  plant  and  cultivate  the  Indian  corn,  and  when  any  of  them 
were  lost  in  the  woods,  and  otherwise  must  have  perished,  they  fed  and  con- 
ducted them  safely  to  their  quarters.  P'aithless  as  they  have  been  represented, 
Massasoit  and  his  successors  kept  good  faith  with  the  English  for  nearly  half 
a  century.  The  Five  Nations  have  maintained  their  confederation  with  each 
other  inviolate  for  time  immemorial.  They  maintained  with  the  utmost  punctu- 
ality their  treaties  with  the  Dutch  of  New  York  and  Albany,  from  their  com- 
mencement, till  the  English  became  masters  of  the  province,  and  the  Dutch 
government  ceased."  It  can  not  be  denied  that  the  aggressors  in  most  of  the 
troubles  that  have  taken  place  with  the  red  men  have  been  the  whites,  and 
these  have  been  commenced  and  fostered  for  selfish  purposes.  They  never 
imagined  that  when  they  welcomed  the  foreigner,  that  he  and  his  should  dis- 
possess them  of  their  rights,  and  drive  them  from  their  homes.  It  has  been 
done,  and  now  the  majority  or  the  remnants  of  once  powerful  tribes  are  on 
reservations  or  in  the  far  West,  needing  the  Gospel  to  fit  them  for  usefulness 
here,  and  for  a  happy  eternity  hereafter.  Simple  justice  demands  that  these 
should  be  cared  for,  and  means  furnished  for  their  evangelization. 

(2).  These  Indians  are  with  us.  They  are  in  our  States  and  Territories. 
They  mingle  with  our  people,  or  constitute  a  part  of  the  nation.  Whilst  we 
have  no  sympathy  with  a  religion  that  can  see  only  home  wants  and  destitution, 
and  that  will  do  nothing  for  the  regions  beyond,  we  have  just  as  little  for  that 
religion  that  can  overlook  home,  in  its  endeavors  to  reach  those  that  are  far 
away,  or  that  which  will  confine  its  efforts  to  one  race  and  neglect  another. 
The  Indians  are  at  our  doors.  We  know  their  moral  condition,  their  vices, 
and  their  degradation,  and  feel  that  they  need  the  helping  hand  of  those  who 
are  strong  and  who  can  save  them.  Then  they  are  committed  to  us  as  a 
trust.  No  other  nation  will  send  missionaries  to  them.  If  benefited  at  all, 
it  must  be  by  those  who  can  reach  them  with  the  truth.  Having  what  they 
greatly  require,  and  possessing  a  domain  that  was  once  theirs,  whereby  we  are 
enriched  and  blessed,  gratitude  alone  demands  that  we  should  use  our  best  en- 
deavors to  improve  their  physical  and  moral  state. 

(3).  They  have  a  claim  upon  our  humanity.  They  are  at  our  mercy. 
They  are,  if  united,  but  a  feeble  folk,  but  tribal  jealousies  and  ancient  feuds 
will  never  allow  any  fusion,  so  that  such  an  union  is  impossible.  But  though 
they  are  comparatively  few,  yet  they  are  capable,  from  their  very  condition? 
situation,  and  relations  to  the  whites,  to  do  much  harm,  to  stir  up  much  strife, 
to  create  much  alarm,  and  cause  a  large  expenditure  of  life  and  money.  The 
revengeful  spirit  of  some  of  the  tribes  has  led  to  retaliatory  measures  for  the 


North  American  Indians.  5 

wrongs  inflicted  upon  them,  as  they  suppose,  and  which  has  produced  in  many- 
hearts  a  desire  for  their  extirpation.  An  Indian  with  this  class  is  a  target  to 
shoot  at,  and  not  a  man  to  save.  He  is  an  incumbrance  on  the  land,  and  the 
sooner  he  is  put  out  of  the  way,  the  better  for  all  parties.  Such  sentiments  are 
by  no  means  uncommon.  They  are  wrong,  and  savor  not  of  the  things  that  are 
of  God.  It  is  better  to  have  those  who  are  within  our  borders  friends  than  foes. 
It  will  cost  less  to  convert  them  into  friends  than  to  kill  them  as  enemies. 
The  Indian  war  in  Florida  cost  1,500  lives,  and  $50,000,000.  The  Sioux  war 
of  1852-4  entailed  the  loss  of  many  lives,  and  $40,000,000.  The  statement 
has  been  publicly  made,  that  the  military  operations  against  hostile  Indians  for 
the  last  forty  years  have  averaged  twelve  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars  per 
annum  to  the  Government.  This  is  a  vast  sum,  and  most  of  it  might  have 
been  saved  if  the  churches  had  put  forth  strdhger  measures  for  their  evangeli- 
zation, and  the  Government  had  pursued  a  different  policy.  The  grandest 
civil izcr  is  the  Gospel,  and  the  readiest  way  to  make  the  Indian  a  friend  of  the 
country  and  useful  to  his  people  and  to  the  land,  is  to  bring  him  under  the 
power  of  divine  truth. 

(4).  They  have  a  claim  upon  our  Christianity.  We  are  debtors  to  them  in 
many  ways.  They  need  the  truth.  It  alone  can  save  them  from  much 
wretchedness  of  this  life  and  from  the  miseries  of  that  which  is  to  come.  It  is 
for  them.  It  is  only  a  trust  committed  to  us;  first  to  receive  it  ourselves  and 
then  to  transmit  it  to  others.  We  have  no  right  to  guard  it  as  a  monopoly,  or 
to  keep  it  from  them.  What  it  has  done  for  us  it  can  do  for  them.  Love  to 
the  Master  and  love  for  souls  should  prompt  us  to  speedy  effort.  They  are 
passing  away.  If  those  who  have  preceded  us  have  been  remiss  in  this  duty, 
this  is  no  reason  why  we  should  overlook  it.  Past  omission  can  not  diminish 
the  power  of  divine  command,  or  interfere  with  obligation.  The  urgency  is  all 
the  greater  by  reason  of  this  neglect. 

These,  with  other  motives,  should  lead  all  who  are  alive  to  their  claims  upon 
them,  to  seek  at  once  their  well-being  and  enlarge  the  work  now  doing  for  a 
portion  of  the  Indians,  until  other  tribes  shall  be  brought  into  contact  with  the 
Gospel  and  with  the  civilizing  influences  of  Christianity. 

HINDRANCES. 

The  field  to  be  cultivated  is  a  peculiar  one.  The  Indians  are  not  massed 
together  or  found  at  a  few  centers.  They  are  scattered  over  a  vast  territory. 
Beginning  at  Western  New  York,  they  stretch  over  many  States,  and  all  the 
Territories ;  and  where  they  are  the  most  numerous,  they  are  not  found  in  large 
towns  and  villages.  This  makes,  except  among  a  very  few  tribes,  educational 
work  most  difficult,  and  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  a  great  labor.  To  instruct 
them  properly,  or  reach  the  people  as  a  body,  will  require  a  large  force  of 
laborers.  Besides  this,  but  few  of  the  languages  are  reduced  to  a  written  form. 
Many  of  the  tribes  are  small,  consisting,  at  the  most,  of  a  few  thousands,  and 
some  of  them  only  of  a  few  hundreds.     It  is,  therefore,  impossible  that  these 


6  Missions  Among  the 

languages  should  all  be  reduced  to  writing,  and  books,  and  tracts,  and  the 
Scriptures  prepared  in  them.  To  use  only  the  English  is  to  deprive  many  of 
the  truth  ;  as  even  those  who  speak  it  have  not  been  accustomed  to  think  in 
it.  To  preach  through  an  interpreter  is  an  unsatisfactory  way  of  communicating 
heavenly  knowledge,  and  yet  this,  in  many  cases,  has  to  be  done. 

(2).  False  idea  of  liberty.  As  a  people  they  dislike  restraint.  They  do  not 
wish  to  be  governed  by  law,  or  be  hedged  in  by  regulations.  The  rules  which 
control  communities  are  not  for  them.  They  prefer  to  roam  at  will,  and  to 
hunt,  fish,  or  sleep,  at  their  own  pleasure.  Work  is  irksome ;  and  as  few  are 
compelled  to  labor  in  order  to  gain  a  livelihood,  they  care  not  to  till  the  soil  or 
to  engage  in  civilized  pursuits.  In  such  a  state  of  things,  family  government 
is  scarcely  known.  From  this  arises  a  difficulty  in  many  places  to  keep  up 
day-schools.  The  parents,  ignofant  of  letters  themselves,  see  but  little  use  of 
book  knowledge  for  their  children,  and  hence  the  pressure  to  be  regular  and 
studious  is  feeble  indeed. 

(3).  Intemperance.  It  is  too  true  that  the  Indians  have  partaken  of  the  vices  of 
the  white  man  more  than  of  his  virtues,  and  no  one  thing  has  exerted  a  more 
demoralizing  influence  than  intemperance.  Its  effects  upon  life  and  character  in 
the  past  are  known  to  all,  but  it  still  exerts  its  baneful  power  over  almost  every 
tribe.  The  reports  that  come  from  Indian  agents  constantly  refer  to  this  evil. 
Says  one  :  "  The  worst  habit,  on  the  whole,  in  its  results  to  which  they  are 
addicted  is  intemperance.  This  works  fearful  demoralization  among  them 
The  law  forbidding  the  sale  of  liquor  to  Indians  is  violated  with  impunity." 
Another  agent,  speaking  on  this  subject,  says:  "They  are  as  completely  sur- 
rounded by  grog-shops  as  any  Southern  city  was  by  earthworks  during  the  late 
war."  Testimony  like  this  is  abundant,  but  these  extracts  show  what  evils  it 
still  works  among  the  tribes,  and  what  an  obstacle  it  is  to  their  reception  of 
the  truth. 

(4).  A  sense  of  wrong.  Many  are  shrewd  observers  and  discerners  of  char- 
acter, and  as  a  people  they  are  alive  to  the  injuries  they  have  suffered  from 
the  whites.  The  past  is  known  to  them.  They  are  apt  to  regard  all  who  rep- 
resent Government  in  any  way  as  cheats,  and  they  are  suspicious  in  their 
dealings  with  them.  They  will  not,  or  do  not,  discriminate.  Some  of  the 
wrongs  which  have  been  inflicted  upon  the  red  man  have  been  avenged,  but 
many  have  been  borne  in  silence,  or  are  working  untold  evils.  The  evil 
done  to  the  Senecas  in  New  York  State,  by  which  they  have  been  cheated  of 
their  rights,  is  but  a  specimen  of  what  has  been  done  to  others  throughout  our 
country,  and  the  consciousness  of  these  has  led  not  a  few  to  have  nothing  to 
do  with  a  religion  that  is  professed  by  those  who  have  so  greatly  injured  them. 

(5).  Their  relations  to  the  Govern  incut.  These  are  peculiar.  They  have 
been  treated  in  many  cases  as  independent  powers,  capable  of  making  treaties  ; 
so  that  to-day  there  are  over  sixty  independent  nations  within  our  territory, 
and  then  these  and  others  are  recognized  as  wards  of  the  nation  and  are  cared 
for  by  it.     The  annuities  paid  to  these  treaty-making  Indians  have  had  an 


North  American  Indians,  j 

injurious  effect  in  many  ways.  "The  bounty  of  the  Government  has  pauper- 
ized them,  and  in  some  cases  has  tended  to  brutalize  more  than  to  civilize." 
Much  of  the  money  thus  paid  has  been  squandered  for  that  which  has  been  a 
bane  to  the  Indian,  and  the  tendency  of  the  system  has  been  to  perpetuate 
idleness  and  poverty. 

(6).  Lawlessness.  Such  a  thing  as  protection  to  life  and  property  under  a 
wise  administration  of  law  is  unknown  among  the  different  tribes.  Even  in 
the  Indian  Territory,  where  law  would  be  supposed  to  be  strong  and  influential, 
we  read  :  "Practically,  we  have  a  country  embracing  62,235  square  miles,  in- 
habited by  more  than  75,000  souls,  including  50,000  civilized  Indians,  without 
the  protection  of  law,  and  not  infrequently  the  scene  of  violence  and  wrong." 
A  judge  in  Idaho  decided,  not  long  ago,  that  he  had  no  jurisdiction  either  as  a 
territorial  or  Federal  officer,  in  a  case  where  an  Indian  had  killed  another, 
though  the  murder  was  committed  in  his  own  county,  and  outside  of  any  re- 
serve. "  No  officer  of  the  Government  has  authority  by  law  for  punishing  an 
Indian  for  crime,  or  restraining  him  in  any  degree ;  all  tribal  government  has 
been  broken  down  by  their  contact  with  the  Government."  Headship  among 
chiefs  is  nominal  where  order  and  protection  are  concerned,  and  many  of  this 
class  are  subject  to  the  control  of  the  worst  element  in  the  tribe. 

(7).  Want  of  property  rights.  Nearly  all  land  is  held  in  common,  and  there 
is  no  law  by  which  any  Indian,  wishing  to  continue  his  relations  to  his  tribe,  can 
receive  his  proportion  of  the  property.  This  may  have  some  advantages  to 
the  tribes  in  their  savage  state ;  but  it  is  a  barrier  to  progress,  to  thrift,  and  to 
independence  among  the  civilized.  It  interferes  with  all  desires  to  advance, 
and  binds  the  whole  into  one  common  herd.  This  works  evil  where  churches 
have  been  established  in  regard  to  self-support,  and  is  a  hindrance  to  their 
maintaining  religious  ordinances,  independent  of  foreign  help. 

We  might  refer  to  other  obstacles — such  as  the  prevalent  idea  that  the  In- 
dians are  doomed  to  extinction ;  to  the  indifference  existing  among  many 
Christians  for  their  evangelization ;  to  the  opposition  to  this  people  as  a  class ; 
to  the  difficulty  of  obtaining  a  race  of  missionaries  who  will  live  among  the 
people,  and  who  will  make  their  ministry  to  them  a  life-work.  These  and 
other  hindrances  show  that  though  the  number  to  be  reached  is  comparatively 
small,  yet  their  evangelization  is  no  light  matter.  Difficulties  should  be  con- 
sidered not  as  a  barrier  to  work,  but  as  a  stimulus  to  effort,  and  that  the  means 
employed  should  bear  some  proportion  to  what  is  to  be  achieved  by  them. 

OUR   MISSIONS. 

SENECA. 

The  New  York  Missionary  Society,  composed  chiefly  of  Presbyterians,  began 
work  among  these  Indians  in  181 1.  It  was  transferred  to  the  United  Foreign 
Missionary  Society  in  182 1,  and  in  1826  this  organization  was  merged  into  the 
American  Board,  and  this  mission  was  under  its  care  till  1870,  when  it  was 
transferred  to  the  Presbyterian  Board. 


8  Missions  Among  the 

The  Indians  found  in  this  mission  constitute  the  main  remnants  of  the 
ancient  confederacy  of  the  Six  Nations,  and  occupy  two  reservations — one 
known  as  the  Cattaraugus,  lying  between  Dunkirk  and  Buffalo  ;  the  other,  the 
Alleghany  Reservation,  about  30  miles  from  Cattaraugus.  About  2,600  Indians 
are  gathered  in  this  portion  of  the  State. 

It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  the  treatment  which  these  people  have  re- 
ceived from  the  State.  How  they  have  been  deceived  and  defrauded  of  their 
rights,  and  how  this,  in  spite  of  all  effort  on  the  part  of  the  missionaries, 
has  kept  a  portion  of  the  people  aloof  from  them,  so  that  quite  a  number  set- 
tled in  a  neighborhood  by  themselves,  and  have  kept  up  their  heathenish  cere- 
monies, havmg  as  little  to  do  with  the  Christian  party  as  possible.  At  one 
time  the  Legislature  of  New  York  rejected  a  petition,  praying  that  ministers  of 
the  Gospel  might  be  permitted  to  reside  on  the  Indian  lands.  At  another  time 
the  civil  authorities  broke  up  and  disbanded  the  Seneca  mission. 

When  the  mission  came  under  the  care  of  our  Board,  there  were  three 
ordained  missionaries  laboring  at  different  points  on  these  reservations,  with 
three  native  assistants.  Since  that  time,  the  veteran  missionary,  Rev.  Asher 
Wright,  has  died ;  Rev.  George  Ford  felt  that  he  ought  to  retire  from  active 
labor,  and  the  only  remaining  missionary,  Rev.  W.  Hall,  is  endeavoring  to 
reach  as  many  with  the  truth  as  possible.  Mrs.  Asher  Wright  continues  also 
in  the  field  at  work.  Since  the  transfer,  one  of  the  native  laborers  has  been 
ordained,  and  two  have  been  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel.  Another  mission- 
ary is  greatly  needed.  There  are  four  organized  churches — the  Cattaraugus 
church,  with  134;  the  Alleghany  church,  with  74;  the  Tonawanda  church, 
with  28  ;  and  the  Tuscarora  church,  with  20  members.  The  lands  are  held  in 
common,  which  interferes  with  the  readiness  of  the  people  to  help  themselves 
and  maintain  religious  ordinances.  The  time  may  be  near  at  hand  when  these 
churches  should  be  committed  to  the  Home  Board. 

Much  good  in  spite  of  many  adverse  influences  has  been  wrought  among  these 
people.  In  a  commemorative  discourse,  the  speaker,  alluding  to  the  changes 
that  had  taken  place,  said : 

"Instead  of  the  grub-hoe,  we  have  the  plough;  instead  of  the  stone  axe 
and  the  iron  tomahawk,  we  have  the  steel-edged  axe  and  broad-axe  ;  instead 
of  the  bark  tray,  the  fanning-mill ;  instead  of  bark  spoons  and  forks  of  crotched 
twigs,  we  have  the  convenient  tables,  chairs,  and  kitchen  and  table  furniture  of 
the  present  day.  Instead  of  a  precarious  supply  of  wild  meat,  we  have  beef,  pork, 
and  mutton,  easily  obtainable  at  will ;  we  have  all  the  variety  of  food  yielded 
by  well-cultivated  farms  and  gardens  ;  and,  chief  of  them  all,  the  finest  wheat, 
which  our  fathers  never  tasted,  saw,  nor  heard  of.  So  also,  instead  of  the 
hamper  upon  the  back,  we  have  convenient  wagons,  sleighs,  and  carriages ; 
instead  of  the  narrow,  crooked  trail  in  the  forest,  we  have  broad  roads,  through 
an  improved  and  beautiful  country  ;  instead  of  the  breech-cloth  and  moccasins, 
we  have  the  comfortable  clothing  ;  instead  of  skins  spread  upon  the  ground, 
we  have  comfortable  beds  and  bedsteads ;  instead  of  shanties  of  bark  or  poles, 


North  American  Indians.  9 

without  floor,  chimney,  or  window,  we  have  comfortable  dwellings,  light  and  dry, 
and  free  from  smoke  ;  instead  of  the  old  fables  and  deep  ignorance  of  former 
days,  we  have  the  knowledge  and  intelligence  resulting  from  the  general  educa- 
tion of  our  youth  and  children — schools  in  every  neighborhood,  and  successful 
teachers  already  raised  up  from  our  own  people." 

The  oldest  of  the  surviving  male  members  of  the  Buffalo  church,  said,  on 
the  same  occasion  : 

"  It  was  plain  that  as  they  became  praying  people  they  became  civilized  also  ; 
and  as  each  family  became  civilized,  they  became  prosperous  in  their 
worldly  business."  And  again  :  "  It  was  very  apparent  that  the  adoption 
of  this  new  religion  carried  with  it  new  enterprise  in  worldly  matters."  As 
they  became  Christianized  they  became  civilized — reformed  in  their  habits 
and  modes  of  living.  This  reformation  was  followed,  not  only  with  greater 
worldly  prosperity,  but  with  an  increase  of  numbers,  and  it  is  a  very  noticeable 
fact  that  this  increase  is  chiefly  confined  to  Christian  families  and  their  descend- 
ants. At  the  present  time  the  whole  population  is  about  fifty  per  cent, 
greater  than  at  the  commencement  of  the  mission. 

Since  the  commencement  of  the  mission  over  600  of  the  people  have  made 
a  profession  of  their  faith  in  Christ.  Other  denominations  have  also  gathered 
some  into  their  churches,  and  a  number  have  died  in  the  faith  without  making 
a  public  profession. 

CHIPPEWA. 

This  mission,  formerly  called  the  Ojibwa  Mission,  was  established  by  the 
American  Board  in  1830,  and  at  first  embraced  four  stations,  which  were 
gradually  reduced,  owing  to  changes  and  new  locations  of  the  Indians,  to  one 
at  Odanah  on  the  Bad  River  reservation,  in  the  north-western  part  of  Wiscon- 
sin. Troubles  with  the  Sioux,  their  removal  from  their  old  haunts,  and  uncer- 
tainty as  to  their  future,  interfered,  for  a  time,  with  evangelistic  efforts  ;  so 
that  when  the  mission  was  transferred,  the  old  missionary,  Rev.  L.  H.  Wheeler, 
was  unable  to  live  on  the  reservation,  and  the  little  church  of  12  members  was 
ministered  to  by  Mr.  Henry  Blatchford,  a  native  preacher.  Whilst  there  are  only 
about  600  Indians  on  this  reservation,  there  are  some  thousands  elsewhere  who 
ought  to  be  brought  together,  and  who  would  form  a  strong  band. 

Soon  after  the  transfer,  a  boarding-school  was  opened  under  the  superintend- 
ence of  Rev.  Samuel  J.  Mills,  who  remained  for  a  short  time,  when  he  was  com- 
pelled by  ill-health  to  resign  his  post.  He  was  succeeded  by  Mr.  A.  W.  William- 
son, who  took  the  place  temporarily,  and  who  rendered  valuable  services  to 
the  mission.  The  present  superintendent,  Rev.  J.  Baird,  arrived  March  15, 
1873.  Miss  H-  N.  Phillips,  now  connected  with  the  Chinese  Mission  in  Cali- 
fornia, Miss  Salome  Verbeck,  and  Miss  M.  Louise  Tarbell  (Mrs.  Baird),  carried 
on  the  mission  for  some  months  before  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Baird.  At  that  time 
there  were  in  the  boarding-school  23  scholars,  and  in  the  day-school  56  scholars. 
Mr.  Blatchford,  acting  as  interpreter  for  the  Indian  agent,  was  able  to  render 
some  service  to  the  church.     Since  that  time  he  has  been  ordained  and  installed 


io  Missions  Among  the 

pastor  of  the  church.  Besides  the  laborers  named,  Miss  Susie  Dougherty,  Miss 
Nettie  Dougherty,  and  Miss  Lydia  Walker  were  for  a  time  engaged  in  the 
schools.  Of  these,  Miss  Susie  Dougherty  remains  with  Miss  Verbeck.  The 
boarding-school  contains  n  boys  and  12  girls,  and  the  day-school  31  boys  and 
10  girls.     The  church  now  numbers  52  communicants. 

OMAHA. 

In  the  autumn  of  1846,  Rev.  Edmund  McKinney  and  his  wife  removed  to 
Bellevue,  on  the  Missouri  River,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the  Omaha  and  Otoe 
villages.  The  former  numbered  1,050  souls,  and  the  latter  1,166.  These 
people  suffered  much  from  the  Sioux.  The  Omahas  were  strongly  addicted  to 
intoxicating  liquors.  "  Poor  as  they  are,  they  will  often  give  a  horse  for  a  few 
gallons  of  whisky,  and  their  wisest  and  most  influential  men  are  often  engaged 
in  drunken  frolics."  Both  tribes  were  in  a  state  of  degradation,  destitution, 
and  wretchedness.  Acquainted  only  with  hunting,  when  not  in  the  chase  the 
men  were  idle  and  given  to  intemperance.  A  boarding-school  wTas  started, 
which  soon  numbered  35  scholars.  In  1853,  Mr.  McKinney  was  constrained 
on  account  of  health  to  leave  this  field ;  he  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  W. 
Hamilton,  of  the  Iowa  Mission,  who  remained  till  1857,  when  failing  health 
required  him  to  rest.  After  a  few  years  he  returned  to  this  mission,  where  he 
is  still  at  work. 

The  Omahas  were  obliged  to  leave  Bellevue,  and  removed  to  the  lands  re- 
served for  them  on  Blackbird  Hills,  about  100  miles  further  up  the  river. 
From  the  very  nature  of  the  people,  and  their  being  away  so  long  on  hunting 
expeditions,  missionary  labor  has  been  difficult  and  slow.  Many  weary  years 
passed  by  without  a  church  organization,  but  one  was  at  last  established,  and 
numbers  at  the  present  time  39  communicants.  Four  of  these  were  received 
on  profession  the  past  year.  The  condition  of  the  tribe  is  improving.  Nearly 
every  man  has  made  improvements  upon  his  allotment.  They  have  no  longer 
the  land  in  common.  This  division  is  working  well.  The  tribe  is  increasing 
in  numbers.  The  boarding-school  was  given  up,  and  day-schools  have  taken 
its  place. 

DAKOTA. 

This  was  commenced  in  1835  by  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Williamson  and  J.  D. 
Stevens,  with  their  wives,  also  two  unmarried  women.  They  landed  at  Fort 
Snelling,  and  soon  selected  for  their  station  Lake  Harriet,  five  or  six  miles 
west  of  the  Fort.  Another  station  was  commenced  at  Lac  qui  Parle,  200  miles 
further  west. 

The  Dakotas,  or  Sioux,  were  not  only  one  of  the  largest  tribes  in  the  United 
States,  but  one  of  the  wildest  and  most  warlike,  inhabiting  a  vast  tract  of 
country,  embracing  the  larger  part  of  Minnesota  and  Dakota,  and  a  por- 
tion of  Nebraska,  Wyoming,  and  Montana.  The  first  years  of  the  mission- 
aries' labors  were  directed  to  the  study  of  the  language,  preparing  buildings 
for  dwellings,  schools,  and  chapels  ;  and  in  getting  ready  for  more  effective 


North  American  Indians.  n 

services.  Soon  the  word  reached  some  hearts  at  both  stations,  but  in  the  midst 
of  encouragements,  opposition  and  persecution  arose  ;  so  that  the  station  near 
Fort  Snelling  was,  for  a  time,  suspended.  For  years  the  number  of  converts 
did  not  increase.  In  1850  there  were  three  organized  churches  and  thirty-one 
communicants.  In  1853  tne  Dakotas  removed  to  their  reservation,  and  the 
stations  then  occupied  within  the  ceded  territory  were  given  up  and  new  ones 
were  selected.  From  this  time  to  1862,  there  was  a  slow,  but  steady  increase 
in  the -number  of  converts.  Then  came  that  horrid  massacre  of  the  white 
settlers,  by  men  who  sought  to  destroy  Christianity,  and  those  whom  they 
regarded  as  their  enemies ;  but  they  were  speedily  overthrown,  and  some  2,000 
Dakotas  were  taken  prisoners  ;  of  these,  38  were  executed  at  Mankato.  Many 
of  the  prisoners  were  brought  under  the  influence  of  truth,  and  305  were  bap- 
tized ;  and  at  another  place  133  united  with  the  church  on  profession  of  their 
faith.  Others  have  since  been  led  to  embrace  Christ.  So  that  in  connection 
with  the  Presbytery  of  Dakota,  there  are  nine  churches  with  a  membership  of 
757  >  7  ordained  native  ministers;  and  2  licentiates. 

In  187 1  a  portion  of  this  mission  was  transferred  to  our  Board,  with  the 
missionaries,  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Williamson,  the  founder  of  the  mission,  and  his 
son,  Rev.  John  P.  Williamson.  With  them  came  two  churches — that  of  Flan- 
dreau,  ministered  to  by  Mr.  Williamson,  and  that  of  Greenwood,  with  its  native 
pastor,  Rev.  W.  O.  Rogers.  In  these  churches,  according  to  the  report  of 
1872,  were  164  communicants.  "The  Flandreau  church  is  composed  of  a 
colony  who  left  the  Santee  agency,  Nebraska,  a  few  years  ago,  determined  to 
become  citizens  and  live  like  white  men.  They  have  had  no  oversight  since 
that,  nor  received  any  aid  from  the  Indian  Department."  Dr.  Williamson  has 
spent  much  of  his  time  of  late  years  in  translating  the  Scriptures  into  Dakota. 
Most  of  the  Bible  is  completed  and  has  been  printed  by  the  American  Bible 
Society.  The  two  churches  have  204  members,  and  in  the  schools  are  81  boys 
and  64  girls.  Another  missionary  is  greatly  needed.  Besides  the  missionaries 
named,  Miss  Nannie  J.  Williamson  is  laboring  as  a  teacher. 

CREEK. 

The  Creeks,  to  the  number  of  at  least  20,000.  reside  in  the  Indian  Territory, 
having  the  Choctaws  on  the  south,  and  the  Cherokees  on  the  north.  In  1842 
Rev.  Robert  M.  Loughridge  commenced  labors  among  them.  At  first  it  was 
doubtful  whether  he  would  be  received,  as  the  tribe  had  been  unwilling  to  have 
missionaries  settle  among  them.  Certain  conditions  were  agreed  to  by  the  chiefs 
and  the  missionary.  In  1845  a  church  was  organized,  and  a  boarding-school 
was  begun  the  same  year.  A  second  station  was  formed  in  1848.  Rev.  Messrs. 
H.  Balantine  and  D.  W.  Eakins  were  associated  with  Mr.  Loughridge.  These 
were  followed  by  Mr.  W.  S.  Robertson  and  Rev.  J.  R.  Ramsay.  The  boarding 
school  was  soon  attended  by  80  scholars,  and  has  been  a  power  in  the  tribe. 
Another  was  started  at  the  second  station,  and  had  in  attendance  40  pupils. 
Besides  preaching  and  teaching,  some  of  the  missionaries  devoted  a  portion  of 


12  Missions   Among   the 

their  time  in  translating  the  Scriptures  into  Muskogee.  In  1858  the  two 
churches  had  grown  in  numbers,  and  90  communicants  were  reported,  of  whom 
24  had  been  added  during  the  year.  In  186 1  the  mission  was  broken  up  on 
account  of  the  civil  war,  and  most  of  the  laborers  returned  north.  In  1867 
Messrs.  Ramsay  and  Robertson  returned  as  missionaries  to  the  Creeks.  They 
met  a  cordial  welcome  from  the  people.  The  Creek  council  appropriated 
$1,000  toward  the  repairs  of  the  Tallahassee  school  building,  and  agreed  to 
support  80  boarding  scholars.  A  church  was  reorganized  consisting  of  17 
members  ;  14  of  whom  were  communicants  before  the  war.  Besides  Mr.  and 
Mrs.  Robertson,  there  are  their  daughter,  Miss  A*nn  A.  Robertson,  Miss  S.  G. 
Brown,  and  Miss  Eliza  J.  Baldwin,  teachers.  The  church  numbers  53,  of  whom 
2  1  were  received  on  profession  of  their  faith  during  the  last  year.  The  influence 
of  the  boarding-school  upon  the  Creek  people  has  been  great ;  some  of  the 
leadino-  men  in  the  nation  were  educated  in  it,  as  well  as  some  who  are  in  the 
ministry  or  occupying  prominent  places  of  trust. 

SEMINOLES. 

The  remnant  of  this  once  powerful  and  warlike  tribe  is  settled  in  the  Creek 
countrv,  to  the  number  of  some  2,000.     The  treatment  they  received  in  Florida, 
and  their  expulsion  from  their  own  home,  embittered  their  feelings  toward  the 
whites,  so  that  they  were  unwilling  to  have  anything  to  do  with  those  who  had 
wronged  them.     They  had  no  school  funds,  and  were  poor,  intemperate,  and 
degraded.     When  the  missionaries  visited  them,  they  found  no  general  feeling 
in  favor  of  education  and  religious  instruction.     A  small  boarding-school  was 
started,  which  gradually  won  its  way  to  favor.     Mr.  John  Lilley  and  Mr.  John 
D.    Bemo   were    the    first   instructors.       Rev.    J.    R.    Ramsay    was    afterward 
transferred  to  this  mission.     A  church  was  organized  at   Oakridge,  which,  in 
i860,  numbered  62  members.     The  report  of  that  year,  in  speaking  of  the  im- 
provement which  had  taken  place,  says  :   "Their  former  prejudices  have  given 
way  to  a  very  general  and  earnest  desire  to  know  more  about  the  religion  of 
Christ ;  idleness  and  intemperance  have  been  superseded  by  habits  of  industry 
and  sobriety  ;  whilst  thrift  and  prosperity  are  rapidly  taking  the  place  of  their 
former  proverbial  poverty.     Indeed,  there  are  none  of  the  tribes  in  the  South- 
western Indian  Territory,  or  anywhere  else  in  the  country,  whose  prospects  at  the 
present  time  are  more  encouraging,  and  this  change  in  the  tide  of  their  affairs 
car.  justly  be  ascribed  to  no  other  cause  than  the  influence  of  the  Gospel." 
This  mission  was  suspended  during  the  year,  but  was  resumed  in  1867,  when 
Mr.  Ramsay  returned,  and  he  organized  the  church,  enrolling  66  members.     In 
the   next   year,   36  persons  were  added  on   examination.     Mr.    Ramsay  was 
obliged  to  resign   his  connection  with   the   Board,  and  he  was  succeeded  by 
Rev.  John  Gillis  and  his  wife,  who  remained  but  a  short  time  with  the  mission. 
The  way  was  opened  for  Mr.  Ramsay's  return.      £le  is  anxious,  with  some  of 
the  people,  to  resume  the  boarding-school  at  Wanuko.     The  tribe  is  not  able, 
however,  to  meet  the  expenses  of  the  scholars. 


North   American   Indians.  i 


j 


NEZ    PERCES. 

This  tribe  is  regarded  as  one  of  the  most  interesting  in  the  North-west.  The 
most  part  are  living  on  the  reservation,  and  have  ever  been  friendly  to  the 
whites.  A  small,  but  disaffected  portion  remain  outside  of  the  reservation,  and 
they  have  been  dissatisfied  for  some  time  with  the  Government. 

Many  years  ago,  a  mission  was  commenced  among  them  by  the  American 
Board,  and  the  people  were  eager  for  religious  instruction.  The  Kayuses,  an 
adjoining  tribe  to  Nez  Perces,  became  jealous  of  the  missionaries,  and  believ- 
ing that  Dr.  Whitman  was  giving  them  poison,  which  was  the  occasion  of  the 
great  sickness  then  raging,  they  determined  on  revenge,  and  without  warning, 
on  Nov.  29,  1847,  they  fell  upon  the  mission  station,  and  killed  Dr.  Whitman, 
his  wife,  and  twelve  other  persons  ;  several  women  and  children  were  taken 
and  held  as  captives,  but  were  afterward  redeemed.  This  broke  up  the  mis- 
sion, and  it  was  not  resumed  until  187 1,  when  Rev.  Henry  H.  Spalding  and 
wife,  who  had  escaped  at  the  time  of  the  massacre,  returned  to  Lapwai.  He 
was  welcomed  by  the  people,  and  being  able  to  speak  in  their  own  tongue, 
hundreds  flocked  around  him,  eager  to  hear  the  Word,  and  seemingly  as  ready 
to  embrace  it.  Carried  away  by  the  sight,  and  listening  to  the  entreaties  of  those 
who  came  again  and  again  to  be  instructed,  he  baptized  a  great  many.  He  did 
not  long  remain  to  indoctrinate  them  in  the  truth,  and  to  guide  the  young 
converts,  but  was  stricken  down  and  died  Aug.  3,  1874.  These  Indians  have 
been  mostly  instructed  by  the  ministers  who  have  been  among  them  as  teach- 
ers. The  time  has,  however,  come  when  one  who  can  devote  all  his  energies 
to  shepherding  the  flock  should  be  sent,  and  the  Board  is  anxious  to  commis- 
sion one  who  will  devote  himself  to  this  people  and  work.  There  are  at  the 
two  stations,  Kamia  and  Lapwai,  670  baptized  persons,  and  429  among  the 
Spokans,  a  neighboring  tribe,  who  were  baptized  by  Mr.  Spalding  and  the  Rev. 
H.  T.  Cowley.     The  field  is  an  important  one,  and  needs  immediate  attention. 

The  Board  has  labored  among  other  tribes.  At  the  commencement  of  the 
war,  its  missions  were  among  the  Choctaws,  Chickasaws,  Seminoles,  Creeks, 
Iowas  and  Sacs,  Omahas,  Otoes,  Kickapoos,  Chippewas,  and  Ottawas.  Con- 
nected with  these  were  20  ordained  missionaries,  3  ordained  natives,  12  male 
and  60  female  American  teachers,  etc.     This  force  has  been  greatly  reduced. 


DAKOTAS. 
/ 

The  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Williamson,  M.  D.,  who  has  been  so  long  connected 
with  this  mission,  and  his  son,  Rev.  John  P.  Williamson,  have  been  received 
under  our  care  from  the  American  Board.  Dr.  Williamson  gives  a  brief 
historic  statement  of  the  mission,  the  field  of  its  operations,  and  the  work 
accomplished.  These  are  of  interest,  and  the  facts  presented  may  lead 
our  readers  to  take  a  deeper  concern  in  this  particular  mission. 

FACTS    CONCERNING    THE   MISSION    TO    THE   DAKOTAS. 

In  the  spring  of  the  year,  1835,  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners 
for  Foreign  Missions,  sent  one  ordained  missionary,  a  licensed  preacher, 
and  a  farmer,  with  their  wives  and  two  unmarried  women,  to  begin  a  mis- 
sion among  the  Dakotas,  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Minnesota.  The 
Dakotas  or  Sioux  as  they  had  been  named  by  the  French  traders,  and  were 
at  that  time  more  generally  called,  were  supposed  to  number  about  25,000 
souls,  and  occupied  the  northern  part  of  what  is  now  the  State  of  Iowa, 
and  the  country  north  of  it  between  the  Mississippi  and  Missouri,  nearly  to 
the  northern  line  of  the  United  States;  also  a  strip  of  country  on  the  west  side 
of  the  Missouri,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Big  Sioux  nearly  or  quite  to  the  base 
of  the  Rocky  Mountains,  and  a  strip  on  the  eastern  shore  of  the  Mississippi, 
more  than  two  hundred  miles  in  length,  and  from  ten  to  thirty  broad  ; 
being  much  the  larger  and  better  part  of  the  State  of  Minnesota,  and 
Territory  of  Dakota,  and  a  part  of  Nebraska,  Wyoming,  and  Montana. 
They  wTere  not  only  one  of  the  largest  tribes  of  aborigines  in  our  country, 
but  one  of  the  wildest  and  most  warlike  ;  and  their  language  was  said  to 
be  especially  difficult  to  learn. 

The  missionaries  landed  at  Fort  Snelling  in  May,  and  while  there  organ- 
ized a  Presbvterian  Church,  embracing  besides  the  families  sent  out  by  the 
Board,  several  officers,  and  a  numbar  of  soldiers  of  the  garrison.  After 
this,  two  of  the  families  proceeded  two  hundred  miles  farther  west,  to 
Lac  qui  Parle ;  where  they  arrived  on  the  9th  of  July.  Here,  another  Pres- 
byterian Church  was  organized,  and  the  i^ord  was  pleased  to  open  the 
hearts  of  the  natives  to  attend  to  his  Word,  so  that  in  the  first  seven  years, 
forty-seven  of  the  adult  natives  were  gathered  into  it,  and  nearly  one  hun- 
dred children  were  baptized. 

The  station  near  Fort  Snelling  was  soon  strengthened  by  the  missiona- 
ries, S.  W.  and  G.  H.  Pond,  who  had  couie  out  at  their  own  expense  to  labor 
for  the  spiritual  benefit  of  the  Dakotas ;  but  though  they  labored  faithfully, 
owing  chiefly  to  the  opposition  of  the  fur  traders,  they  saw  very  little 
fruit  of  their  labors.- 

In  1843,  the  opposition  and  persecution  extended  to  Lac  qui  Parle. 


2 

The  converts  were  not  only  persecuted  but  scattered  and  exposed  to 
severe  temptations,  causing  some  of  them  to  fall,  though  not  as  many  as 
we  feared  would;  for  ten  or  twelve  years  the  number  of  converts  did  not 
equal  the  losses  by  death  and  defection.  In  the  year  1853,  the  Word  of 
God  was  listened  to  with  more  interest  than  for  some  yens  before,  and 
several  who  had  for  years  been  wandering  returned  and  expressed  a  desire 
for  the  ordinances  of  God's  house.  Next  year  a  church  was  organized  at 
Pajutuzee,  thirty  miles  below  Lac  qui  Parle,  composed  chiefly  of  such  as 
had  been  members  of  that  first  church  among  the  Dakotas,  and  six  were 
received  to  that  church,  and  one  at  Lac  qui  Parle,  on  profession  of  their 
faith  in  Christ.  From  that  time,  till  the  beginning  of  the  war  in  b 
there  was  a  slow  but  steady  increase  in  numbers  and  a  much  greater 
increase  in  knowledge  and  grace  in  our  churches,  which  then  contained 
nearly  seventy  native  communicants.  About  one  hundred  in  all  had  been 
received,  of  whom  twenty-four  had  deceased,  and  two  or  three  had  aposta- 
tized, and  the  others  had  gone  to  other  churches.  The  aim  of  the  prime 
movers  in  the  war  of  1862,  against  the  whites,  was  to  entirely  destroy 
Christianity  and  civilization  among  their  people.  The  failure  of  our  Gov- 
ernment to  comply  with  the  stipulations  of  treaties  with  these  Indians,  and 
the  assertion  of  hostile  traders  among  them,  that  the  Government  was 
bankrupt,  causing  many  of  them  to  believe  there  were  no  soldiers  left  to 
resist  them,  enabled  them  to  draw  to  their  aid  many  who  had  no  wish  for 
war. 

This  war  like  all  wars  against  Jehovah,  put  to  shame  and  confusion  those 
who  planned  it.  For  a  time  they  were  successful  in  ever)  engagement, 
meeting  with  no  resistance  except  at  Fort  Ridgly  and  New  Ulm,  they  said 
killing  white  men,  was  like  killing  ducks,  attended  with  no  danger,  and  they 
boasted  that  their  many  gods  were  far  more  powerful  than  the  God  of  the 
white  man.  But  those  who  had  been  engaged  to  kill  the  Christian  Indians 
did  not  do  it.  When  they  wrere  beaten  in  the  battle  of  Nord  Lake,  and 
returned  to  their  camp,  and  found  that  the  Christian  Indians  and  those  who 
sympathized  with  them,  had  taken  the  white  prisoners  into  their  tents, 
and  would  fight  for  them,  rather  than  give  them  up.  most  of  them  fled  in 
consternation,  saying,  the  God  of  the  white  man  was  more  powerful  than 
all  their  gods.  Some  of  the  murderers  remained  with  the  Christian  Indi- 
ans, and  surrendered  to  our  army,  saying  it  was  better  to  do  so  than  to 
flee  to  the  Prairies,  where  all  would  perish  of  cold  and  hunger,  for  the  Big 
Knives  were  merciful,  and  though  themselves  should  be  killed,  their  wives 
and  children  would  be  saved.  Those  who  had  rescued  the  prisoners  .)> 
soon  as  it  was  in  their  power,  delivered  them  to  our  army.  Including  these 
Christian  Indians  about  two  thousand  Dakotas  became  prisoners.  At  first 
they. were  treated  kindly,  but  some  of  the  murderers  being  found  among 
them  made  them  nearly  all  suspected,  and  three  hundred  and  seventy-three 
men  were  sent  in  chains  t<>  Mankato,  where  thirty-eight  of  them  were  exe- 
cuted, and  twenty-three  died  of  sickness  during  the  winler.      Nearly  thirty 


other  Dakotas,  chiefly  women,  were  taken  with  them  to  carry  to  them  wood, 
water,  and  food,  making  abont  four  hundred  taken  to  Mankato.  Of  these 
thirteen  had  been  previously  baptized  by  ns,  one  by  the  Episcopalians,  and 
fourteen,  chiefly  half-breeds,  by  the  Roman  Catholics.  Many  of  these 
prisoners  had  been  very  bitter  opponents  of  the  Gospel,  but  now  God 
opened  their  hearts  to  listen  to  his  Word  which  we  preached,  and  before 
they  left  in  April,  all  the  survivors  except  ten  professed  to  be  Christians, 
and  had  been  baptized,  of  whom  305  had  been  baptized  by  us,  and  about 
twenty-seven  each  by  the  Episcopalians  and  Roman  Catholics.  The  work 
in  the  prison  was  carried  on  chiefly  through  the  instrumentality  of  two  or 
three  of  our  members,  who  were  unjustly  imprisoned,  though  one  of  the 
missionaries  spent  two  or  three  days  each  week  instructing  them. 

The  women  and  children,  with  a  few  men  who  were  above  suspicion, 
were  taken  to  Fort  Snelling,  and  confined  there  till  the  next  April.  Rev. 
J.  P.  Williamson  labored  incessantly  among  these,  assisted  occasionally  by 
Rev.  S.  R.  Riggs,  and  before  they  left  133  had  united  with  our  church 
on  profession  of  their  faith  in  a  crucified  Redeemer. 

It  would  be  unreasonable  to  expect  that  all  these,  upwards  of  four  hun- 
dred, most  of  them  previously  entirely  ignorant  of  Christianity,  gathered 
into  the  church  in  six  months  from  the  time  they  began  to  listen  to  the 
truth,  would  steadily  adorn  their  profession.  Nearly  fifty  of  them,  young 
men,  were  in  the  spring  sent  to  the  Missouri,  with  the  women  and  children, 
and  required  to  live  in  a  community  where  there  were  more  than  five 
women  to  each  man,  and  little  or  nothing  to  do.  Most  of  these  for  a  time 
did  barlly.  About  seventy  died  in  prison,  giving  such  evidence  of  piety  as 
could  be  expected.  A  majority  remained  in  prison  more  than  three  years, 
and  but  few  of  these  have  apostatized.  A  number,  perhaps  one-fifth,  from 
various  motives,  chiefly  family  connection,  and  supposed  advantages  in 
worldly  matters,  have  left  us  to  unite  with  the  Episcopal  Church,  of  which 
they  are  useful  members. 

Many  have  died  since  their  release,  as  their  constitutions  were  impaired 
by  the  long  confinement,  but  many  of  them  are  pillars  in  our  churches. 
Four  are  pastors  of  churches  wThich  report  an  aggregate  of  431  communi- 
cants. These  four  all  learned  the  alphabet  in  the  prison  at  Mankato ;  for 
their  prisons  were  schools,  and  under  the  influence  of  God's  Spirit  and  a 
strong  desire  to  read  his  Word,  more  learned  to  read  in  one  year  in  the 
prisons  at  Mankato,  Minn.,  and  Davenport,  Iowa,  and  at  Fort  Snelling  and 
Thompson,  than  had  learned  in  all  our  schools  in  the  previous  twenty-seven 
years. 

In  the  last  seven  years  God  has  been  carrying  on  his  work  among  the 
Dakotas  in  circumstances  which  seem  to  us  very  unfavorable.  During 
most  of  this  time  they  have  been  without  any  fixed  habitation,  having  no 
houses  either  for  dwellings,  schools,  or  in  which  to  assemble  for  public 
worship.  Yet  our  churches  have  steadily  increased  in  numbers,  and  the  mem- 
bers in  knowledge,  and,  we  trust,  in  grace  also.    We  have  now  nine  churches, 


v>  itli  an  aggregate  of  more  than  seven  hundred  eommunicants,  seven  native 
pastors,  and  four  licentiates.  Within  a  year  two  churches  have  been  built, 
and  another  begun,  which  will  probably  be  finished  in  the  spring  ;  and 
many  of  our  members  have  in  the  last  three  years,  with  some  aid  from 
government,  built  themselves  log-houses. 

Tlie  whole  number  received  to  the  communion  by  us  from  the  beginning 
is  about  one  thousand. 

How* many  of  these  have  deceased,  I  know  not ;  but  suppose  at  least 
two  hundred  have  died  in  the  faith,  and  fifty  have  left  us  to  unite  with  the 
Episcopalians.  About  a  dozen  women,  who  hold  fast  their  profession, 
and  some  of  them  shine  as  bright  lights  in  dark  places,  have  never  been 
near  to,  or  had  an  opportunity  of  uniting  with  any  of  the  existing 
churches.  From  this  it  is  apparent  that  the  number  who  have  apostatized 
is  not  large,  though  many  have  been  subjected  to  church  discipline. 

Twenty-six  females,  and  fifteen  men  have  labored  in  connection  with 
this  mission,  exclusive  of  natives.  Of  the  fifteen  men,  eleven  were 
ordained  ministers,  of  whom  live  were  licensed  and  four  ordained  by  the 
Dakota  Presbytery,  and  two  others  ordained  while  laboring  in  this  field. 
The  payments  of  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  on  account  of  this  mission,  exclusive 
of  $9,300  received  from  the  United  States  Government  on  account  of 
schools,  have  been  about  one  hundred  and  ten  thousand  dollars.  Be- 
sides this  the  American  Bible  Society  has  spent  some  thousand  dollars 
publishing  the  Holy  Scriptures  for  the  Dakotas,  and  the  American  Tract 
Society  has  printed  some  tracts,  Bunyan's  Pilgrim's  Progress,  and  several 
thousand  hymn  books,  in  the  Dakota  language;  and  we  have  received  many 
donations  of  clothing  and  food.  These  three  items  in  the  aggregate  prob- 
ably amount  to  between  $20,000  and  $30,000,  making  the  entire  cost  of 
this  mission  less  than  $150,000. 

In  a  book  entitled  "These  for  Those,  or  Our  Indebtedness  to  Foreign 
Missions,"  published  by  Hoyt,  Flagg  &  Breed,  of  Portland,  Maine,  1870, 
il  is  clearly  Bhown  that  this  mission  has  saved  our  country  more  than  ten 
times  as  much  money  as  it  has  cost,  and  also  the  lives  of  many  of  our 
people.  Of  the  other  results  of  the  Dakota  Mission,  we  do  not  propose 
here  to  give  a  particular  account,  and  will  only  state  that  we  have  reduced 
the  language  to  a  written  form,  and  prepared  iii  it  a  number  of  elementary 
books,  a  grammar,  and  dictionary,  containing  about  15,000  words,  and 
published  by  tin-  Smithsonian  Institute  ;  and  translated  the  entire  New 
Testament  and  nearly  half  of  the  Old.  The  greater  part  of  these  transla- 
tions has  been  printed  by  the  American  Bible  Society  ;  and  the  remainder, 
we  suppose,  will  be  within  a  year. 

,  FIELD    OF   THE   DAKOTA    MISSION. 

The  Dakotas  are  more  numerous,  and  occupy  a  larger  extent  of  country, 
than  any  other  tribe  of  Indians  in  our  land.  They  differ  from  others  of 
our  aborigines  in  that  they  have  steadily  increased  in  numbers  for  more 
than  a  century,  while  all  the  others  are  supposed  to  have  decreased,  many 

V 


of  them  greatly  and  constantly.     They  may  very  properly  be  considered 
in  three  divisions : 

1st.  Those  who  formerly  lived  in  what  is  now  the  State  of  Minnesota, 
called  Santees,*  to  whom  alone  the  Gospel  has  been  preached  till  within  a 
few  years.  In  1862,  when  they  made  war  on  the  people  of  the  United 
States,  they  numbered  more  than  6,000  souls.  About  two-thirds  of  these  fled 
to  Devil's  Lake,  and  beyond  it,  where  many  of  them  remain,  as  yet  inac- 
cessible to  us.  Those  accessible  number  between  three  and  four  thousand, 
and  live  in  the  northeast  corner  of  Nebraska  and  on  the  eastern  border  of 
Dakota  Territory,  and  may  now  be  reckoned  a  Christian  people,  semi- 
civilized,  as  there  are  among  them  eight  Presbyterian  churches,  with  an 
aggregate  of  680  communicants,  and  the  Episcopalians  have  probably 
more  than  half  as  many  communicants  among  them. 

2d.  The  Yankton  and  Yanktonais,  who  are  found  in  Dakota  Territory 
northeast  of  Missouri,  and  are  estimated  in  the  late  reports  of  the  Indian 
Department  at  nearly  eight  thousand  souls.  These  speak  a  dialect  some- 
what different  from  the  Santees,  but  they  converse  together  without  diffi- 
culty, and  we  find  they  readily  learn  to  read  the  books  prepared  in  the 
Santee  dialect.  A  part  of  these  plant  corn,  and  some  years  raise  as  much 
as  they  wish  to  eat ;  but  in  their  dry  climate  it  is  a  very  uncertain  crop, 
and  until  within  a  few  years  they  have  depended;  both  for  food  and  cloth- 
ing, on  the  buftalo.  For  two  years  few  of  these  animals  have  been  found 
in  any  part  of  this  country,  and  the  other  game,  with  the  corn  they  have 
raised,  being  insufficient  to  furnish  them  either  food  or  clothing,  they  are 
dependent  for  both  these  chiefly  on  our  government.  While  these  were 
following  the  buffalo  we  could  not  preach  to  them  statedly,  nor  could  their 
children  attend  school.  Not  quite  two  years  ago,  the  Rev.  J.  P.  William- 
son moved  to  the  Yrankton  Agency,  and  since  that  time  about  two  thou- 
sand of  them  have  been  almost  constantly  within  twenty  miles  of  him. 
He  has  preached  to  them  statedly,  and  organized  a  church,  into  which 
nearly  twenty  of  them  have  been  gathered. 

3d.  The  Telon  inhabitants  of  the  prairie  are  estimated  at  from  eighteen- 
to  twenty  thousand  souls,  and  have  been  accustomed  to  range  over  an 
immense  extent  of  country  on  the  southwest  of  the  Missouri.  They 
formerly  depended  for  a  living  entirely  on  the  chase,  following  the  buffalo 
all  summer,  and  in  winter  retiring  to  the  wooded  valleys,  where  they  could 
find  shelter,  and  deer,  elk,  and  other  small  game,  when  the  buffalo  did  not 
come  near  them. 

Since  white  men  in  search  of  gold  have  taken  possession  of  so  many  of 

these  valleys,  that  a  subsistence  could  not  be  obtained  by  the  chase,  they 

have  felt  and  acted  as  did  the  Gaels  of  Scotland  long  ago,  who  said  of  the 

Saxons, 

"  We'll  spoil  the  spoiler  while  we  may, 
And  from  the  robber  rend  the  prey." 

The  war  we  made  to  punish  such  conduct  did  not  put  a  stop  to  it,  and 


so  President  Grant  adopted  tlie  more  economical  and  effectual,  as  well  as 
humane  policy,  of  feeding  and  clothing  them.  For  the  purpose  of  getting 
their  rations,  the  most  of  them  are  gathered  at  some  half  a  dozen  points, 
chiefly  on  the  Missouri  River,  at  which  provisions  are  stored  and  issued  to 
them.  They  are  thus  accessible  to  missionary  labors,  as  they  never  were 
before  while  living  by  the  chase.  A  missionary  residing  at  one  of  these 
agencies  will  have  constant  access  to  many  of  them;  and  it  is  probable 
that  their  dependence  on  our  government  for  a  subsistenee  will  humble 
them,  so  as  to  make  them  more  disposed  to  listen  to  the  gospel.  In  visits 
which  we  have  made  to  a  number  of  them  within  the  last  three  years,  we 
think  we  can  see  this  already.  When  the  Northern  Pacific  Railroad, 
which  has  already  surveyed  through  their  best  hunting-jirounds — the  heart 
of  their  country,  shall  be  completed,  they  will  see  that  they  cannot  again 
live  by  the  chase,  and  must  change  their  mode  of  life,  which  implies  in 
their  minds  a  change  of  religion. 

They  speak  the  same  language  as  the  other  Dakotas ;  but  the  dialect  is 
so  different,  that  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  same  books  will  do  for  them 
and  the  Santees  and  Yanktons.  and  the  missionary  who  preaches  to  them 
should  learn  their  dialect.  For  this  purpose  several  men  should  go  among 
them  speedily.  Those  who  go  and  preach  to  them  the  Gospel  in  their  own 
tongue  are  likely  to  save  many  souls,  and  reap  a  rich  harvest.  Without 
the  Gospel  they  must  soon  perish,  soul  as  well  as  body. 

The  country  inhabited  by  the  Telon  and  Yankton  is  well  adapted  for 
raising  cattle  and  sheep  :  and  if  converted  to  Christianity  and  subjected 
to  our  laws,  with  no  more  aid  than  our  government  is  now  giving  them, 
by  adopting  a  pastoral  life  they  might  soon  become  self-sustaining. 

Heathen,  and  without  the  protection  of  law,  it  is  impossible  that  they 
raise  cattle  and  sheep,  or  do  any  thing  now,  when  the  game  is  destroyed 
by  which  they  can  earn  a  living.  The  kindness  of  our  government  in 
feeding  them  will  hasten  their  destruction. 

When  man  sinned  God  ordained  that  in  the  sweat  of  his  face  he  should 
eat  bread;  and  hence  those  that  eat  bread  without  earning  it  are  un- 
healthy ;  and  we  may  kill  the  Indians,  so  as  to  exterminaie  them  much 
sooner  as  well  as  cheaper,  with  flour  and  pork,  than  with  powder  and  lead. 
But  it  is  far  better  to  give  them  the  Gospel,  and  save  them. 

The  Rev.  John  P.  Williamson  thus  speaks  of 

THE  FIELD  THAT  IS  TRANSFFKHKD. 

There  are  two  churches  on  this  ground,  (a.)  Yankton  Agency  church, 
where  I  reside.  It  was  organized  last  March — now  has  thirty-two  members. 
Twenty-five  of  these  joined  on  profession,  and  seven  have  been  received  from 
Pilgrim  church  at  Santee  Agency.  There  are  also  ten  church  members  liv- 
ing 120  miles  below  this,  in  a  half-breed  settlement  near  Sioux  City,  Iowa, 
who  have  been  connected  with  the  Santee  Agency  church,  but  now  having 


more  relations  with  this  church,  it  has  been  arranged  to  transfer  them  hith- 
er, which  will  make  forty- two  members  on  our  roll. 

The  Yankton  Indians  number  about  2,000  souls,  and  are  scattered  about 
their  reservation,  which  is  thirty  miles  long  on  the  Missouri  River,  the 
Agency  being  about  the  center  of  it,  and  sixty  miles  above  Yankton,  the 
capital  of  Dakota  Territory. 

The  first  missionary  effort  for  this  tribe,  was  made  by  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M., 
who  sent  a  missionary  teacher,  Mr.  H.  D.  Cunningham,  here  in  18G4.  He 
remained  only  a  few  months.  Afterwards  I  visited  the  place  occasionally 
as  I  had  opportunity,  and  in  March,  1869,  removed  here  with  my  family 
from  the  Santee  Agency.  Since  then,  the  Episcopalians  have  opened  amis- 
sion here,  having  one  missionary,  a  number  of  helpers,  and  buildings  at 
either  end  of  the  reservation,  as  well  as  at  the  Agency. 

In  our  school,  at  the  Yankton  Agency,  it  is  my  design  to  have  a  female 
teacher.  The  school  is  small  this  winter,  owing  to  the  fact  that  most  of 
the  Indians  are  camped  away  in  the  woods,  too  far  to  come  here  to  school, 
though  they  come  quite  regularly  to  meeting.  I  have  three  young  Indian 
men  employed  teaching  schools  in  tents  in  the  various  camps.  Their 
schools  are  well  attended. 

(b).  River  Bend  Church,  is  situated  at  Flandran,  D.  T.,  130  miles  northeast 
of  Yankton  Agency,  and  forty  miles  north  of  Sioux  Falls.  The  member- 
ship of  this  church  October  1st,  was  111.  It  is  composed  of  Santee  Sioux, 
who  went  over  there  from  the  Santee  Agency  in  1869,  that  they  might  take 
homesteads  on  government  lands,  and  enjoy  the  privileges  of  citizenship. 
The  government  does  nothing  for  them  more  than  for  white  men,  and,  for 
this  reason  they  have  some  severe  struggles,  but  we  hope  it  will  be  the 
"  making  of  them."  This  church  is  now  supplied  by  W.  Owancamaza 
Rogers,  a  native  brother,  who  was  ordained  this  fall,  but  has  not  yet  been 
installed. 

A  Memorial  church  building  was  erected  for  this  people  in  the  fall  of  1871, 
worth  about  $1,000,  of  which  Elder  E.  W.  Edwards,  of  Marquette,  Mich., 
contributed  $500,  and  the  2d  church  of  Springfield,  Ohio,  about  $200,  the 
Indians  helping  themselves  about  $150. 


PERSIA  AMISSION. 


/ 


PERSIA    MISSION. 


This  title  has  been  used  for  this  mission  within  a  short  period.  The  old 
familiar  name,  the  Nestorian,  was  the  general  one  until  the  work  carried  on  by 
the  laborers  and  the  territory  occupied  by  them  were  enlarged.  At  first  opera- 
tions were  confined  to  the  Nestorians,  now  they  are  intended  for  all  classes 
and  religionists  in  the  Empire. 

The  thoughts  of  American  Christians  were  turned  to  the  Nestorians  after  the 
visit  of  Messrs.  Smith  and  Dwight  to  Persia,  in  183 1.  The  facts  they  presented 
regarding  this  people  awoke  such  an  interest  that  the  American  Board  de- 
termined to  establish  a  mission  among  them,  and  for  this  purpose  the  Rev. 
Justin  Perkins,  then  a  tutor  in  Amherst  College,  was  appointed  the  first  mis- 
sionary to  them  in  1833,  who  sailed  with  his  wife  in  September  of  the  same 
year.  In  the  instructions  given  to  these  laborers  the  field  was  not  only  desig- 
nated, but  the  place  where  they  were  to  begin  their  work — Oroomiah,  a  name 
so  well  known  in  the  missionary  world,  and  so  much  identified  with  evangel- 
istic labors  in  Persia. 

Among  the  objects  specified  for  this  undertaking  in  these  instructions  were, 
(1)  "to  convince  the  people  that  they  came  among  them  with  no  design  to  take 
away  their  religious  privileges,  nor  to  subject  them  to  any  foreign  ecclesiastical 
power ; "  (2)  l<  to  enable  the  Nestorian  Church,  through  the  grace  of  God,  to 
exert  a  commanding  influence  in  the  spiritual  regeneration  of  Asia."  It  was 
more  than  a  year  after  they  sailed  before  Mr.  Perkins  reached  Oroomiah,  hav- 
ing been  detained  on  the  way  from  various  causes,  and  then  it  was  only  to  ob- 
tain a  teacher  in  Mar  Yohanan  (one  of  the  most  intelligent  bishops  among 
the  Nestorians),  when  he  returned  to  Tabriz  to  acquire  a  knowledge  of  the 
language  before  commencing  to  reside  and  labor  among  the  people. 

As  the  work  now  carried  on  in  this  mission  is  of  a  varied  character  and 
among  different  classes,  it  is  important  to  understand  these  in  order  to  appre- 
ciate what  has  been  done  for  the  people,  and  what  has  yet  to  be  undertaken 
for  their  evangelization. 

NESTORIANS. 

We  begin  in  this  survey  with  this  ancient  sect,  as  the  mission  was  primarily 
to  them.  Their  estimated  number  is  about  150,000,  found  chiefly  in  Persia 
and  Turkey,  though  some  are  living  in  Russia  since  the  annexation  of  Georgia 
to  that  Empire.  Several  have  gone  from  the  plains  of  Oroomiah  to  Russia  on 
account  of  the  greater  advantages  there  enjoyed.  About  30,000  are  found 
between  the  lake  of  Oroomiah  and  the  Kurdish  Mountains ;  a  much  larger 
number  inhabit  the  mountains  of  Kurdistan,  while  another  portion  dwell  in  the 
valley  of  the  Tigris  and  on  the  slopes  of  the  mountains.  The  Church  of  Rome 
has  been  and  is  busy  in  efforts  to  proselyte  the  Nestorians,  and  not  a  few  have 
been  won  over  to  the  Papacy. 


4  Persia  Mission, 

The  Nestorians  derive  their  name  from  Nestorius,  Bishop  of  Constantinople, 
who  was  excommunicated  by  what  the  Third  General  Council  at  Ephesus 
deemed  heresy.  His  cause  was  espoused  by  young  men  from  Persia,  so  that 
a  large  number  soon  embraced  his  views.  The  historian,  Mosheim,  thus 
speaks  of  them  in  the  sixth  century  :  "  The  Nestorians,  after  they  had  obtained 
a  fixed  residence  in  Persia,  and  had  located  the  head  of  their  sect  at  Seleucia, 
were  as  successful  as  they  were  industrious  in  disseminating  their  doctrines  in 
the  countries  lying  without  the  Roman  Empire.  It  appears  from  unquestion- 
able documents  still  existing  that  there  were  numerous  societies  in  all  parts  of 
Persia,  in  India,  Armenia,  Arabia,  Syria,  and  in  other  countries  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  patriarch  of  Seleucia  during  this  century."  Their  missionary 
zeal  continued  to  burn  for  ages,  and  when  it  relaxed,  the  churches,  a  prey  to 
stronger  forces  and  to  bitter  persecution,  began  to  decline.  Their  greatest  foe 
was  the  Mohammedan  power,  which  has  ever  been  arrayed  against  them,  and 
has  politically  sought  to  crush  them. 

OBSTACLES. 

Dr.  Perkins  and  his  associate,  Dr.  Grant,  who  reached  Tabriz  October  15, 
1835,  found  the  Nestorians  sunk  religiously  in  darkness  and  superstition. 
"  Can  these  bones  live  ?  was  the  inquiry,"  says  Dr.  Perkins,  "which  the  pain- 
ful spectacle  itself  prompted  from  us,  and  to  which  the  promised  breath  of 
Jehovah  to  breathe  upon  those  slain  and  cause  them  to  live  could  alone  furnish 
a  comforting  answer."  They  had  a  name  to  live,  but  were  dead.  "The  life 
and  the  power  of  Christianity  had  departed  ;  scarcely  a  symptom  of  spiritual 
vitality  remained.  Of  the  meaning  of  regeneration  even  their  most  intelligent 
ecclesiastics  seemed  to  know  little  or  nothing."  Their  whole  religious  system, 
though  based  on  the  Bible,  was  a  religion  of  rites  and  ceremonies.  Of  an  in- 
ner divine  life  they  seemed  to  know  nothing. 

Another  obstacle  encountered  was  the  oppression  to  which  the  people  were 
subject.  These  foreign  laborers  came  not  to  the  conquerors,  but  the  conquered, 
who  were  called  by  their  rulers  unclean  infidels  and  dogs,  and  were  treated  as 
such.  For  ages  they  had  been  oppressed,  subject  to  lawless  extortion,  with  no 
prospect  of  redress  and  relief.  At  times  they  had  been  stripped  of  property 
and  children.  They  could  not  engage  in  commerce,  and  some  only  of  the 
mechanic  arts  were  open  to  them.  "  A  decent  garment  on  a  Nestorian  was 
safe  only  as  it  had  an  outer  covering  of  rags  to  hide  it."  Their  social  and 
political  condition  was  that  of  serfs  with  no  prospect  of  elevation  and  de- 
liverance. 

Another  hinderance  in  the  way  was  the  low  moral  state  of  the  Nestorians. 
Falsehood  was  the  rule  and  not  the  exception,  and  they  would  urge  it  as  in- 
dispensable, says  Dr.  Perkins,  to  save  them  from  being  overreached  and  op- 
pressed by  their  Mohammedan  masters.  It  was  a  common  remark,  "  We  all 
lie  here  ;  do  you  think  we  could  succeed  in  business  without  it  ?  "  Whilst  they 
would  not  labor  on  the  Sabbath,  yet  they  would  arrange  their  business  and 


Persia  Mission.  5 

engage  in  festivities  and  trade  far  more  than  on  any  other  day  of  the  week. 
Profanity  was  everywhere  rife,  and  obscenity  as  prevalent  as  profaneness. 
These  were  common  to  both  sexes.  Theft  was  scarcely  regarded  as  a  crime. 
Intemperance  abounded,  and  was  regarded  by  them  as  a  boon  from  heaven  to 
sustain  and  comfort  them  in  the  midst  of  poverty  and  oppression.  These  and 
kindred  vices  were  common  among  the  people,  and  proved  a  mighty  barrier  to 
their  reception  of  the  truth. 

The  great  poverty  of  the  people  was  and  is  an  obstacle  to  missionary  suc- 
cess. We  know  not  what  their  poverty  is.  In  their  homes  they  had  few  com- 
forts. Their  houses  were  wretched.  The  house  consisted  usually  of  one  room, 
where  the  family  ate  and  slept,  and  was  lighted  by  an  opening  in  the  roof.  In 
many  of  them  were  the  cattle  belonging  to  the  family.  In  1837  there  were 
very  few  pupils  in  the  schools  wearing  shoes,  even  in  the  snow  of  mid-winter, 
and  one  lad  had  only  a  coarse  cotton  shirt  reaching  to  his  knees.  Their  ex- 
treme poverty  led  the  first  missionaries  to  meet  all  the  expenses  of  the  schools 
and  of  other  evangelistic  agencies,  and  in  order  to  get  scholars,  where  educa- 
tion had  been  so  neglected,  the  food  of  the  children  was  also  provided.  This 
policy  has  been  found  detrimental  to  the  best  interests  of  missions,  and  where 
it  is  followed,  it  is  impossible  to  teach  the  people  self-reliance.  The  danger  is 
of  doing  too  much  for  a  people.  This  the  missionaries  found,  and  it  was  an 
effort  when  they  saw  their  mistake  to  train  them  to  help  themselves.  Where 
so  much  poverty  exists,  the  people  are  heavily  in  debt.  This  is  a  crying  evil 
in  the  East ;  but  being  so  common,  it  is  not  easy  even  for  native  Christians  to 
keep  out  of  it. 

Another  hinderance  to  great  success  is  the  scattered  condition  of  the  people. 
With  the  exception  of  a  few  centers,  the  Nestorians  are  mainly  found  in  villages 
and  hamlets  covering  a  large  area,  and  frequently  inhabiting  regions  sterile, 
cold,  and  inaccessible.  Numbers  dwell  among  the  Koords,  who  are  controlled 
by  no  law,  and  are  fond  of  pillaging  and  oppressing  the  weak.  To  reach 
these,  much  labor  is  needed.  Outstations  have  been  formed,  but  in  Western 
Kurdistan  no  place  has  been  found  that  could  be  considered  as  a  permanent 
station  for  foreign  laborers. 

The  violent  opposition  of  the  priesthood,  and  the  unwillingness  of  many  to 
leave  the  Church  of  their  fathers,  might  also  be  considered  as  hinderances  to  a 
pure  spiritual  religion,  and  should  have  due  weight  when  viewing  the  difficul- 
ties that  have  been  surmounted  and  the  success  achieved. 

ARMENIANS. 

The  Armenian  Church  is,  like  the  Nestorian,  of  great  antiquity.  Mr.  Eli 
Smith  in  his  "  Researches  "  supposes  that  as  the  Christian  Church  had  become 
corrupt  in  the  fourth  century,  and  had  lapsed  into  a  mere  profession  of  theo- 
retical dogmas  and  ceremonial  observances,  so  the  Armenians  were  converted 
into  this  form  of  Christianity  and  they  have  largely  adhered  to  it  ever  since. 
With  it  as  a  heart  religion  they  have  little  acquaintance. 


6  Persia  Mission. 

Their  number  in  Persia  is  small — not  over  60,000.  They  are  more  scat- 
tered than  the  Nestorians,  and  are  much  more  enterprising.  The}'  are  found 
more  largely  in  a  section  of  ancient  Armenia,  and  in  the  basin  of  Oroomiah. 
Some  10,000,  it  is  said,  are  in  the  district  of  Salinas,  and  5,000  in  or  near  Ta- 
briz. Others  dwell  in  Hamadan  and  in  neighboring  villages  ;  also  in  Ispahan 
and  Teheran.  Much  less  has  been  done  for  them  than  for  the  evangelization 
of  the  Nestorians. 

MOHAMMEDANS. 

Persia  was  one  of  the  first  countries  that  yielded  to  Mohammedanism,  and 
this  power,  as  we  have  said,  has  been  antagonistic  to  Christianity.  It  dealt, 
however,  its  heaviest  blows  against  the  Nestorians  and  Armenians  under  Tam- 
erlane, and  the  former  especially  lost  their  prestige  and  strength  as  an  aggres- 
sive body.     They  have  been  few  in  numbers,  feeble,  and  oppressed  ever  since. 

Mohammedanism  has  existed  in  Persia  under  two  forms  :  (1).  When  con- 
verted to  Islam  the  Persians  were  St/nnis,  or  orthodox  ;  (2).  At  the  close  of 
the  fifteenth  century  a  descendant  of  one  of  the  twelve  Imaums,  or  those  who 
were  the  direct  descendants  of  Mohammed,  occupied  the  throne,  and  through 
him  the  Sheah  system  became  the  established  faith  of  the  nation.  This  has 
produced  much  contention  between  the  Turk  and  the  Persian.  Rev.  J.  H. 
Shedd  well  says  in  his  sketch,  Persia  is  the  weak  point  of  Mohammedanism, 
and  he  gives  the  following  reasons  : 

"  1.  The  Persians  themselves  are  Sectaries.  They  are  not  the  defenders  of 
the  orthodox  faith,  as  are  the  Turks,  Arabs,  and  Tartars,  but  they  are  arrayed 
against  it.  The  Persians  turn  for  sympathy  and  aid  to  Christians  rather  than 
to  their  Sunnee  enemies.  Being  themselves  proscribed  as  heretics  by  the 
more  powerful  faction,  they  are  more  accessible  and  more  ready  to  listen  to 
the  missionary  than  other  Moslems. 

"  2.  The  Persians  are  constitutionally  of  a  more  liberal  spirit  than  the  other 
Moslem  nations.  The  Turk  has  had  wrung  from  him  by  Christian  powers  a 
guarantee  of  religious  liberty.  Christian  powers  have  done  nothing  to  obtain 
any  such  guarantee  from  Persia.  Yet,  practically,  the  toleration  granted  in 
Persia  is  equal  to,  if  not  greater,  than  that  in  Turkey.  In  general,  a  Turk  or 
an  Arab  will  not  willingly  enter  into  a  discussion  of  his  religion  with  a  Chris- 
tian. He  will  not  suffer  a  word  against  it.  But  the  Persians  invite  discussion. 
They  will  tolerate  free  discussion,  and  listen  to  all  you  can  allege  against  their 
own  religion.  This  is  the  character  of  the  people  when  not  under  the  fear  of 
the  Mullahs.  It  is  much  to  find  a  people  willing  thus  to  reason  and  to  listen 
to  the  Bible.  The  government  partakes  of  this  spirit  of  tolerance  so  far  as  to 
overlook  irregularities  in  its  subjects.  It  would  require  far  less  pressure  than 
was  brought  to  bear  on  Turkey  or  China  or  Japan  to  secure  an  edict  of  toler- 
ation. 

"  3.  More  important  is  the  fact  that  the  system  in  Persia  is  divided  against 
itself  more  than  in  any  other  land.  The  Persians  received  Islam  at  the  hands 
of  conquerors  and  under  protest,  and  in  every  age  these  protests  have  been 


Persia  Mission,  7 

renewed  by  new  heretical  sects.  During  the  last  twenty  years  the  whole 
body  of  Moslems  has  been  shaken  by  the  new  religion  of  the  Bab.  Immense 
numbers  are  adherents  of  a  mystical  faith  derived  from  pre-Islamitic  times. 
Thus  from  within  the  stronghold  comes  the  cry  of  dissension  among  its  de- 
fenders. The  new  religions,  and  the  general  unsettling  of  the  faith  of  the 
people,  have  already  opened  wide  the  gates  to  the  Christian  teacher.  The 
missionaries  stand  amazed  at  the  change  of  temper  in  the  Moslem  population 
within  a  few  years.  In  fact,  between  the  new  religions  and  the  old,  and  the 
many  secret  sects  and  clans,  every  stranger  is  a  study,  and  often  two  men, 
while  confessing  openly  they  are  Mussulmans,  laugh  in  each  other's  faces,  as 
the  Roman  augurs  of  old. 

"  4.  Add  to  these  indications  the  absolute  failure  of  the  Mohammedan  system, 
so  palpably  felt  that  thousands  of  the  people  acknowledge  it.  For  twelve  un- 
broken centuries  it  has  cursed  the  land.  As  heathenism  in  the  first  century,  it 
has  run  its  course.  A  system  without  a  comforter — without  charity  or  sympa- 
thy— with  a  priesthood  absolutely  vile  and  profligate  and  rapacious,  the  yoke  is 
galling  upon  the  poor.  They  are  oppressed  and  distressed,  and  no  one  careth 
for  them  ;  and  now  the  famine  brings  them  quite  to  despair.  The  condition 
of  the  masses  in  Persia  is  such  as  renders  them  open  to  the  influences  of  love. 
Wise,  discreet,  yet  zealous  missionary  efforts,  constantly  reveal  opportunities 
and  results  beyond  expectations,  so  that  to-day  Persia,  beyond  any  other  Mos- 
lem population,  is  open  to  the  Gospel." 

OTHER    SECTS. 

Whilst  the  mass  of  the  people  are  Mohammedans  and  belong  to  the  Sheah 
sect,  there  are  in  the  mission  field  over  a  million  of  Koords  and  Moslems  who 
speak  Kurdish  and  belong  to  the  Sunis.  There  are  also  about  50,000 
Jews  and  some  15,000  Yezeedies  who  are  reputed  worshipers  of  Satan. 

EVANGELISTIC   EFFORTS. 

The  labors  of  the  Romish  Church  to  convert  the  Nestorians  to  their  belief 
met,  in  some  places,  with  considerable  success.  By  fraud  they  drew  under  their 
sway  many  thousands  in  the  valley  of  the  Tigris,  and  several  hundred  families  in 
Salmas  and  Oroomiah.  A  number  of  them  have  been  won  over  to  the  truth, 
and  as  few  of  them  are  bigoted  Romanists,  they  become  an  important  mission- 
ary field. 

The  first  Protestant  movement  began  with  Henry  Martyn,  who  entered 
Persia  in  181 1,  with  the  great  object  in  view  of  translating  the  Bible  into  Per- 
sian. As  far  as  his  health  would  admit  he  faithfully  attended  to  this  and  was 
able  to  complete  the  New  Testament  and  the  Psalms,  besides  engaging  in 
other  labors  for  the  spiritual  improvement  of  the  people.  His  stay  with  them 
was  short,  but  his  services  were  not  in  vain.  His  works  do  follow  him.  After 
an  interval  of  seventeen  years  the  Rev.  C.  F.  Pfander  visited  Persia  in  1829, 
where  for  a  period  he  labored.     He  afterward  moved  to  India,  where  he  pub- 


8  Persia  Mission. 

lished  some  of  the  ablest  controversial  works  on  Mohammedanism  and  Chris 
tianity  that  have  been  written.  When  Mr.  Perkins  reached  Tabriz  he  found 
Rev.  Frederick  Haas,  a  German  missionary,  and  who  for  the  four  years  he  re- 
mained in  the  country  did  a  good  work  and  exerted  the  best  of  influence  upon 
these  people.  When  Russia  broke  up  the  German  mission  in  Georgia,  he  was 
joined  by  those  who  were  laboring  there.  In  1837  they  were  recalled  by  the 
Basle  Society,  largely  on  the  ground  that  they  were  unable  to  proclaim  the 
Gospel  among  the  Mohammedans.  As  Henry  Martyn  had  prepared  the  New 
Testament  in  Persian,  so  Rev.  W.  Glen,  D.D.,  of  Scotland,  and  for  a  long 
time  connected  with  the  mission  at  Astrachan  before  it  was  broken  up  by 
Russia,  had  finished  the  Old  Testament,  and  came  to  Tabriz  to  revise  the 
work.  These  two  men  did  a  great  work  in  giving  the  Bible  to  millions,  but 
little  was  accomplished  in  preparing  the  people  to  receive  it.  This  was  done 
by  the  American  missionaries,  who  first  turned  their  thoughts  and  expended 
their  efforts  upon  the  neglected  and  oppressed  before  endeavoring  to  reach  the 
rulers  with  the  Gospel ;  and  this  brings  us  to  consider  what  they  have  accom- 
plished. 

STATIONS. 

Oroomiah. — This  word  we  find  is  used  for  a  city,  a  district,  a  plain,  and  a  lake. 
The  province,  or  district,  lies  under  the  shadow  of  the  Kurdish  mountains  on 
the  west,  and  extends  on  the  east  to  the  Lake  of  Oroomiah.  Spurs  of  the 
mountains  jut  down  at  each  end  of  the  lake  to  its  margin.  In  this  territory 
lies  the  basin  or  plain,  about  40  miles  in  length  and  about  20  miles  in  width  in 
its  broadest  part,  and  embracing  an  area  of  500  square  miles. 

A  former  member  of  the  mission  describes  it  as  "  dotted  over  with  some  300 
villages,  each  surrounded  with  luxuriant  wheatfields,  vineyards,  fruit-gardens, 
and  melon  patches ;  while  the  plain  in  every  part  is  intersected  with  number- 
less water-courses,  diverted  from  the  principal  rivers,  whose  banks,  fringed 
with  willows,  remind  one  of  the  beautiful  promise  of  Jehovah  to  the  children 
of  His  people,  '  They  shall  spring  up  as  willows  by  the  water-courses.'  " 

The  Lake  of  Oroomiah  is  about  eighty  miles  in  length,  and  thirty  in  width. 
Its  waters  are  as  salt  as  those  of  the  Dead  Sea.  No  fish  are  found  in  it.  Its 
elevation  above  the  ocean  is  4,100  feet.  It  exerts  a  marked  influence  on  the 
climate  of  the  plain. 

Oroomiah — the  ancient  Thebarma — is  situated  near  the  center  of  the  plain. 
It  stands  about  400  feet  higher  than  the  lake,  and  is  a  walled  city  of  nearly 
four  miles  in  circumference.  It  claims  to  be  the  birthplace  of  Zoroaster. 
"  The  flat-roofed  houses,"  Dr.  Grant  says,  "  are  mostly  built  of  mud  or  sun- 
burnt bricks,  and  are  enclosed  with  high  walls.  The  more  wealthy  have  beau- 
tiful gardens  attached  to  their  dwellings  where  the  family  can  enjoy  themselves 
secure  from  all  intrusion." 

Near  the  close  of  1835  the  missionaries — Messrs.  Perkins  and  Grant  and 
their  wives — moved  from  Tabriz  to  Oroomiah,  and  began  those  labors  for  the 
Nestorians  that  have  been  continued  by  their  successors  to  the  present  time. 


Persia  Mission.  9 

They  found  the  field  dark  as  the  shadow  of  death.  No  European  had  ever 
resided  in  the  town,  and  the  reports  of  the  rude  and  bloody  character  of  its 
Mohammedan  population  were  startling,  so  that  their  enterprise  seemed  at  the 
outset  attended  with  danger.  Dr.  Grant  was  the  man  for  the  situation.  His 
medical  skill  soon  won  the  respect  and  confidence  of  all  classes,  and  his 
personal  intrepidity  and  commanding  form — things  which  strongly  impress  the 
Persians — added  much  to  the  security  of  the  mission.  Moslems  and  Nesto- 
rians  soon  thronged  his  doors,  patients  came  from  a  great  distance,  and  the 
relief  he  gave  to  many  and  his  gratuitous  services  won  him  many  friends. 

Education  was  at  a  very  low  ebb.  Very  few  of  the  men  could  read  intelli- 
gently, and  only  one  woman.  They  had  no  printed  books  and  few  copies  of 
the  Scriptures  in  manuscript,  and  these  were  not  in  modern,  but  in  ancient 
Syriac.  Their  spoken  language  had  never  been  reduced  to  a  written  form.  A 
school  which  has  taken  the  name  of  the  Male  Seminary  was  commenced  in 
January,  1836,  in  a  cellar,  and  was  attended  by  seven  boys  the  first  day  and 
seventeen  the  next.  During  the  summer  three  village  schools  were  started. 
Whilst  education  was  employed  as  an  auxiliary  from  the  outset,  the  mission- 
aries regarded  the  preaching  of  the  Word  as  of  the  first  importance ;  they 
therefore  instituted  it  at  once,  and  preached  in  their  own  dwellings,  in  school- 
houses,  and  in  native  dwellings.  After  a  time  the  ecclesiastics  opened  their 
churches  to  them,  where  they  were  permitted  to  preach  the  Gospel  of  the  Son 
of  God. 

As  there  was  much  prejudice  against  female  education,  it  was  with  some 
difficulty  that  Mrs.  Grant  succeeded  in  collecting  a  few  girls.  This  was  the 
commencement  of  the  Female  Seminary  that  has  proved  such  a  blessing  to  the 
Nestorians. 

It  was  soon  found  that  a  printing  establishment  was  essential  for  the  mission. 
A  press  was  therefore  sent  by  the  Board  with  Rev.  Messrs.  A.  L.  Holliday  and 
W.  R.  Stocking  in  1837,  but  being  too  unwieldy  to  be  carried  over  the  moun- 
tains it  was  sent  back  to  Constantinople.  It  was  not  till  the  close  of  1839, 
when  a  press  made  to  be  taken  to  pieces,  so  as  to  be  carried  overland  from 
Trebizond,  arrived,  and  with  it  came  Mr.  Edward  Breath,  a  printer. 

There  was  much  sickness  in  the  early  history  of  the  mission,  but  the  first  to 
succumb  to  it  was  Mrs.  Grant,  January  14,  1839.  She  was  a  noble  character, 
a  fine  scholar,  and  a  devoted  missionary.  Though  her  work  in  Persia  was  a 
brief  one,  she  had  made  a  great  impression  upon  many,  so  that  during  her 
sickness  all  classes  manifested  the  utmost  desire  for  her  recovery ;  and  after 
her  death  several  of  the  bishops  came  to  Dr.  Grant,  saying :  "  We  will  bury 
her  in  the  church,  where  none  but  holy  men  are  buried.  She  has  done  so 
much  for  us,  we  want  the  privilege  of  doing  something  for  her,  and  will  dig  her 
grave  with  our  own  hands." 

The  sickness  experienced,  and  the  great  heat  that  was  felt  on  the  plains,  led 
the  missionaries  to  establish  a  health  retreat  upon  the  side  of  a  neighboring 
mountain  at  Seir,  about  five  miles  from  Oroomiah,  which  rises  gradually  to  a 


io  Persia  Mission. 

height  of  nearly  3,000  feet  above  the  plain,  and  more  than  7,000  feet  above 
the  ocean.  This  has  been  occupied  by  the  mission  as  a  sanitarium  ever  since, 
and  here  much  work  has  been  done. 

,  In  order  to  reach  the  various  classes  and  religionists  in  Persia  different  lan- 
guages have  to  be  studied.  Thus  Persian  is  spoken  by  the  higher  classes  ; 
Turkish  by  other  Moslems  ;  and  Syriac  by  the  Nestorians.  "  For  business," 
Mr.  Stoddard  wrote,  "  I  must  be  a  Turk,  and  for  religious  effort  I  must  be  a 
Nestorian."  The  written  language,  or  Ancient  Syriac,  the  missionaries  found 
was  unintelligible  to  the  people.  Their  first  effort  was  to  make  their  modern 
dialect  the  medium  of  written  as  well  as  of  oral  instruction.  They  began  at 
once  to  prepare  the  Scriptures  into  their  vernacular,  and  they  have  been 
enabled  to  print  the  entire  Bible  in  the  spoken  tongue,  and  also  to  give  the 
Ancient  and  Modern  Syriac  in  parallel  columns,  being  aided  in  this  work  by 
the  American  Bible  Society. 

As  it  was  not  the  intention  of  the  missionaries  to  organize  a  new  church, 
their  preaching  and  influence  in  the  way  of  direct  conversions  could  not  easily 
be  known.  The  laborers  continued,  however,  in  the  use  of  the  various  agen- 
cies, hoping  and  praying  for  a  blessing,  and  teaching  and  guiding  those  whom 
they  could  influence  in  the  way  of  truth.  Prejudices  were  softened  ;  Christian 
•civilization  respected;  the  Bible  prized,  schools  well  attended,  and  education 
sought.  Still  these  signs  did  not  imply  conversions,  or  that  souls  were  saved. 
.At  the  beginning  of  the  year  1844  Mr.  Stoddard  wrote  :  "Year  after  year  the 
labors  of  the  mission  had  gone  on  accompanied  with  the  favor  of  the  govern- 
ment and  the  favor  of  the  people,  and  many  marks  of  outward  prosperity,  but 
few,  very  few,  had  been  truly  converted."  During  this  year  heavy  trials  fell 
upon  the  mission.  Dr.  Grant,  who  had  been  laboring  among  the  mountain 
Nestorians,  died.  The  policy  introduced  by  the  first  missionaries  had  to  be 
modified  in  regard  to  the  employment  of  Nestorian  bishops  as  secular  assist- 
ants, which  arrayed  this  class  against  them.  Advantage  was  taken  of  this  by 
Romish  and  Anglican  ecclesiastics,  who  sought  to  alienate  the  Nestorians  from 
the  missionaries.  The  first  attack  was  upon  the  schools,  which,  fifty  in  num- 
ber, were  dispersed.  The  next  attack  was  upon  the  native  helpers,  and  then 
upon  the  workers  at  the  press,  and  then  an  effort  was  made  by  the  Jesuits,  who 
had  been  expelled,  to  have  the  missionaries  also  sent  out  of  the  country. 
These  plans  were  frustrated,  while  the  changes  introduced  were  of  the  greatest 
importance.  The  clouds  that  hovered  so  ominously  over  the  mission  were 
gradually  dissipated,  and  at  the  close  of  the  year  there  were  sure  tokens  of 
God's  reviving  presence  in  the  boys'  school,  and  a  short  time  afterward  two 
girls  in  Miss  Fiske's  school  asked  for  a  day  to  be  set  apart  to  seek  the  Sav- 
iour. Soon  several  in  both  schools  were  rejoicing  in  Christ — others  were 
brought  under  conviction,  until  fifty  were  hopefully  converted.  The  work 
spread  into  the  villages,  and  many  wonderful  trophies  of  redeeming  grace  were 
gathered  into  the  Church.  Several  of  the  cases  of  conversion  were  of  the 
most  marked  character  ;  one  of  them,  at  least,  recalling  the  miraculous  change 


Persia  Mission,  1 1 

in  Saul  of  Tarsus.  Other  revivals  followed,  in  which  many  were  led  to  the 
Saviour  j  but  none  in  its  depth  and  extent  surpassed  that  which  the  mission 
enjoyed  the  past  winter,  when  hundreds  embraced  the  truth,  and  some  of  the 
churches  were  greatly  strengthened.  The  male  and  female  institutions,  the 
latter  so  long  under  the  efficient  services  of  Miss  Fiske  and  Miss  Rice,  have 
been  especially  blessed  of  God.  The  larger  number  who  have  left  the  latter 
have  given  good  evidence  of  divine  renewal,  and  the  same  has  been  true  of  the 
Male  Seminary.  Most  of  the  pious  young  men  who  have  graduated  from  this 
institution  have  given  themselves  to  teaching  or  to  preaching ;  while  the  pious 
young  women  who  have  graduated  from  the  Female  Seminary  have  become  the 
wives  of  these  teachers  and  preachers. 

In  the  village  schools  many  thousands  have  been  taught  and  in  the  Sabbath - 
schools  they  have  become  better  acquainted  with  divine  truth.  The  press  has 
been  an  effective  agency.  When  it  threw  off  the  first  sheet  of  a  tract,  the 
priests  were  struck  with  mute  astonishment  and  rapture,  and  as  soon  as  they 
recovered  from  their  surprise  they  exclaimed,  "  It  is  time  to  give  glory  to  God 
that  our  eyes  are  permitted  to  behold  the  commencement  of  printing  books 
for  our  people."  Besides  the  Bible,  which  has  been  issued  in  many  forms, 
many  works,  as  "  The  Pilgrim's  Progress,"  "The  Saint's  Rest,"  "Rise  and 
Progress  of  Religion  in  the  Soul,"  Church  History,  Hymn-books,  Geographies, 
Theological  Lectures,  etc.,  etc.  For  many  years  a  monthly  periodical  called 
The  Rays  of  Light,  containing  the  several  departments  of  religion,  education 
science,  missionary  intelligence,  etc.,  has  been  printed,  and  has  accomplished 
much  good.  The  physician  has  been  a  great  blessing  in  this  mission,  not  only 
in  relieving  bodily  sickness,  but  in  preparing  the  way  for  the  reception  of  the 
Gospel.  Men  like  Grant  and  Wright  and  Young  and  Van  Norden  and  Holmes 
have  proved  of  great  service  to  many. 

The  original  plan  of  seeking  to  reform  the  Old  Church  failed.  The  laborers 
after  a  trial  of  many  years,  came  to  the  conclusion  that  it  could  not  be  gal- 
vanized into  spiritual  life,  and  therefore  determined,  a  few  years  ago,  to  or- 
ganize separate  churches.  This  alienated  some  old  friends  of  the  mission 
among  them  Mar  Yohanan.  These  sought  to  introduce  Episcopacy  among 
them,  but  their  efforts  were  of  little  avail.  The  experiment  has  been  tried  with 
great  success,  and  to-day  there  are  15  organizations,  with  a  membership,  count- 
ing late  accessions,  of  at  least  1,000  members.  Some  of  the  churches  are  self- 
sustaining.   There  are  14  pastors  and  41  preachers  connected  with  this  station. 

Up  to  the  time  of  the  transfer  of  the  mission  in  1871,  there  had  been  con- 
nected with  it  19  missionaries,  3  physicians,  1  printer,  and  7  unmarried  ladies. 
Of  these,  Rev.  Messrs.  Cochran,  Coan,  Shedd,  and  Labaree,  Dr.  Van  Norden 
and  Miss  Jennie  Deane  were  transferred  to  the  Presbyterian  Board.    Of  these 
the  only  one  now  in  the  field  is  Mr.  Labaree. 

Just  before  the  transfer,  the  mission  resolved  that  they  considered  it  a  duty 
to  embrace  at  once  within  their  efforts  the  Armenian  and  the  Mussulman  sects 
of  Central  Persia.     This  was  soon  afterward  carried  out,  and  from  that  time 


12  Persia  Mission. 

the  Armenian  and  the  Mohammedan  have  had,  in  various  places,  the  Gospel 
preached  to  them. 

Since  the  transfer  the  following  missionaries,  now  at  Oroomiah,  have  been 
sent  :  Rev.  W.  R.  Stocking  and  his  wife,  187 1  ;  Rev.  Messrs.  W.  L.  Whipple 
and  J.  M.  Oldfather  and  their  wives,  1872  ;  G.  W.  Holmes,  M.D.,  and  his 
wife,  1874 ;  Miss  Mary  K.  Van  Duzee  and  Miss  Annie  E.  Poage,  1875. 

Teheran. — The  mission  had  for  years  been  anxious  to  occupy  the  capital, 
and  believing  that  the  time  had  come  to  begin  operations  at  this  center,  Rev. 
J.  Bassett,  who  had  arrived  at  Oroomiah  the  preceding  year,  made  an  extended 
tour  in  1872,  visiting  the  cities  of  Tabriz,  Harnadan,  and  Teheran.  This  led 
to  the  occupancy  of  Teheran  in  November,  1872,  by  him.  He  was  welcomed 
by  both  Mussulmans  and  Armenians. 

Teheran  is  situated  a  short  distance  from  the  site  of  the  ancient  Rages,  men- 
tioned in  the  book  of  Tobit.  The  old  city  has  almost  disappeared.  Teheran 
for  a  long  period  was  only  an  insignificant  village  prior  to  the  accession  of  the 
present  dynasty.  When  the  capital  was  removed  from  Ispahan,  for  political 
reasons,  to  this  place,  it  assumed  some  importance,  but  the  improvements 
made  in  it  are  of  recent  date.  The  streets  are  constructed  after  Western 
ideas.  The  avenues  are  well  paved  and  wide.  The  public  gardens  are 
spacious,  and  the  bazaars  are  the  most  extensive  in  Persia.  The  population 
is  reckoned  at  130,000.  About  1,000  are  Armenian,  2,000  Jews,  and  100 
Europeans.  The  two  principal  languages  that  are  spoken  here  are  the  Turk- 
ish and  Persian.     The  Persian  only  is  heard  in  the  streets. 

"  In  this  city,"  says  Mr.  Bassett,  "  we  occupy  the  only  tenable  ground  for 
labors  designed  to  reach  either  Eastern  Persia  or  the  Tartar  tribes  of  Turkis- 
tan.  The  Turkish  language  spoken  here  enables  a  person  to  pass  quite 
through  Turkistan  to  the  birthplace  of  Tamerlane  and  Zenjis  Khan  into  Chi- 
nese Tartary,  and  far  to  the  northward ;  while  the  Persian  makes  accessible  all 
Central  and  Southern  Persia,  through  Khorassan  to  Affghanistan,  and  even 
large  populations  of  India. 

"  In  this  city  there  is  no  evangelical  preacher  or  church  j  there  are  two 
French  Lazarists,  and  one  Armenian  priest,  who  reads  to  a  few  Armenians  a 
ritual  in  an  ancient  and  unknown  tongue.  And  this  is  all  that  is  done  in 
the  way  of  giving  the  Gospel  to  this  city,  the  capital  of  a  kingdom,  and  the 
most  important,  both  in  its  political  and  commercial  relations,  of  any  city  be- 
tween Constantinople  and  Bombay. 

"  Central  Asia  has  in  nearly  all  the  past  been  neglected  by  the  Church  of 
Christ ;  the  result  has  been,  the  great  source  whence  have  proceeded  the 
scourges  of  mankind  ;  and  the  Tartar  and  Iranian  hordes  have,  age  after  age, 
as  in  great  tidal  waves,  quite  overflown  Christendom,  overthrowing  its  civiliza- 
tion and  nearly  extinguishing  its  light.  It  is  vain  for  us  to  expect  peace  on 
the  earth,  or  the  sway  of  a  Christian  civilization  until  the  millions  of  those  vast 
regions  shall  have  been  brought  under  the  sceptre  of  the  King  of  Peace." 

It  was  expected  at  the  outset  that  the  Armenians  of  Eastern  and  Central 


Persia  Mission,  13 

Persia  would  form  a  nucleus  and  basis  of  labor,  who  number  in  the  section 
named,  nearly  30,000.  But  work  is  not  confined  to  them.  To  the  Moham- 
medan is  the  Gospel  preached,  as  to  the  Armenian.  A  church  was  organized 
March  26,  1876,  of  twelve  persons,  one  of  whom  was  a  Mussulman;  others 
were  subsequently  added.  A  school  for  boys  has  been  kept  up,  and  a  girls' 
boarding-school,  numbering  seventeen  pupils,  has  been  established.  A  train- 
ing class  for  the  education  of  men  for  the  ministry  has  been  formed,  which 
consists  of  five  young  men  and  a  converted  Armenian  priest. 

Rev.  J.  L.  Potter  arrived  in  Teheran  in  1874;  Miss  Sarah  J.  Bassett,  1875. 
Rev.  D.  Scott  and  his  wife,  and  Miss  Anna  Schenck  are  on  their  way  to  join 
this  station. 

Tabriz. — This  important  commercial  city  lies  east  of  the  Lake  Oroomiah, 
and  by  the  road  about  140  miles  from  the  city  of  Oroomiah.  It  is  the  great 
mart  of  European  merchandise,  and  in  respect  to  trade,  it  is  the  emporium  of 
Persia.  Its  bazaars  and  caravansaries  are  numerous  and  extensive,  and  some 
of  them  are  of  superior  construction.  Its  population  is  reckoned  at  200,000. 
It  was  occupied  as  a  station  in  September,  1873,  by  Rev.  P.  Z.  Easton  and 
his  wife,  and  by  Miss  Jewett,  who  had  been  laboring  for  some  time  prior  to 
this  at  Oroomiah.  Though  it  was  the  first  city  that  received  Rev.  J.  Perkins 
and  his  wife,  where  they  lived  for  months  on  their  first  arrival,  it  was  the  last 
occupied  of  the  stations.  The  missionaries  have  encountered  more  opposition 
here  than  at  any  other  point.  Work  was  soon  begun  for  both  Armenians  and 
Mussulmans,  and  at  first  large  numbers  attended  the  services,  whilst  a  few 
seemed  to  be  specially  interested.  "  Their  steady  attendance  upon  the  means 
of  grace  aroused  the  suspicion  and  hostility  of  certain  ecclesiastics,  which  re- 
sulted in  their  being  watched  by  some  of  the  police.  Soon  some  of  these  were 
apprehended,  thrown  into  prison,  and  severely  beaten.  They  were,  however, 
released  through  the  active  interference  of  the  English  Consul  and  Mr.  Easton. 
One  of  those  who  was  thus  punished  was  an  old  man.  '  He  had  reason  to 
believe  that  if  he  did  not  acknowledge  Mohammed,  death  might  await  him  ; 
but  he  remained  steadfast,  and  if  he  did  not  venture  to  call  upon  Christ,  neither 
did  he  invoke  Mohammed  or  Ali,  but  cried,  "  O,  Lord  of  Heaven,  in  Thee  is 
our  hope."  '  This  opposition  to  evangelistic  effort  was  instigated  by  the 
Armenian  priests,  who  are  afraid  of  losing  their  followers,  as  there  is  no  law 
against  an  Armenian  becoming  a  Protestant,  though  the  death-penalty  exists 
against  any  follower  of  Mohammed  embracing  Christianity." 

A  persecution  of  a  similar  character  on  the  part  of  the  Mohammedans  has 
again  taken  place.  This  time  but  little  bodily  injury  was  inflicted,  still  it 
shows  the  watchfulness  of  some,  and  their  opposition  to  the  truth. 

There  are  two  points  in  the  city  where  religious  services  have  been  held 
— one  of  these  at  Lalawa,  the  Armenian  quarter.  Much  interest  in  the  Bible 
has  been  manifested  in  both  these  sections.  Mr.  Easton  baptized  several 
during  the  year,  and  among  the  number  was  a  Persian  Koord.  A  church  was 
organized  in  1874.     A  school  for  girls  was  established,  but  it  has  encountered 


14  Persia  Mission. 

a  good  deal  of  opposition.  The  way  is  opening  up  more  and  more  for  visiting 
among  the  women  at  their  homes,  and  advantage  is  taken  of  this  by  the  ladies 
of  the  station. 

Rev.  S.  L.  Ward  and  his  wife  and  Mrs.  Loretta  C.  Van  Hook  reached 
Tabriz  November,  1876. 

There  are  several  outstations  connected  with  this  station.  At  Tiflis,  in 
Russia,  there  is  an  organized  church. 

What  a  great  difference  between  the  first  report  of  this  mission  in  1837,  and 
the  one  now  made.  Then  there  was  one  stated  place  for  preaching  with  an 
average  congregation  of  50  ;  now  there  are  over  70  with  an  average  congrega- 
tion of  more  than  3,000.  Then  no  churches;  now  18  with  a  membership  of 
at  least  1,000,  and  their  contributions  exceeding  $1,000.  Then  there  were  3 
village  schools  with  74  pupils,  now  there  are  nearly  80  schools  with  1,200 
pupils.  These  are  encouraging  facts  and  show  how  the  blessing  of  God  has 
rested  upon  the  work. 


2, 


PERSIA  MISSION. 


BY  REV.  G.  W.  COAN. 


PERSIA   MISSION. 


BY   REV.    G.    W.    COAN. 

Persia  is  one  of  the  oldest  kingdoms  of  the  world,  and  possesses  great  his- 
toric  interest  It  is  eminently  a  Bible  land.  It  is  the  land  of  Cyrus  the  Great, 
of  Xerxes  and  Artaxerxes,  Darius,  Ahasuerus,  Esther,  and  Mordecai,  and  of 
the  wise  men  who  saw  the  star  of  the  Saviour  in  the  East.  Tradition  locates 
the  graves  of  two  of  these  in  the  Church  of  St.  Mary,  in  Oroomiah. 

Assyria  led  the  Jews  captive  to  Babylon,  but  Persia  humbled  that  power, 
and  restored  Judah  to  her  hills  in  Palestine,  the  Temple  to  Mount  Moriah,  and 
the  walls  to  Jerusalem.  With  her  peoples  the  lost  tribes  have  probably  com- 
mingled and  coalesced,  and  it  is  not  unreasonable  to  suppose  that  St.  Thomas, 
the  Apostle  of  our  Lord,  found  among  these  in  whose  veins  coursed  the  blood 
of  Abraham,  a  readier  ear  to  his  testimony  concerning  the  true  Messiah.  And 
so  in  the  days  of  the  Apostles,  a  Church  was  formed  in  ancient  Media,  com- 
posed of  men  styling  themselves  St.  Thomas  Christians,  and  having  its  See  in 
Bagdad,  its  schools  and  seminaries  of  learning,  its  bishops  and  priests,  its  propa- 
gandists and  missionaries  scattered  abroad  as  far  as  to  India  and  China.  The 
monuments  of  their  words  and  works  are  found  in  great  tablets  of  stone  in 
China,  in  the  midst  of  a  people  known  among  the  heathen  as  the  "  Nameless 
Sect"  who  are  now  found  by  our  missionaries  to  be  exceedingly  accessible  and 
eager  to  receive  the  Gospel,  and  who  are  being  baptized  by  hundreds. 

On  the  coast  of  Malabar,  India,  there  is  another  monument  of  their  mis- 
sionary zeal,  in  the  remnant  of  a  Church  still  calling  itself  St.  Thomas 
Christians. 

The  story  of  Jenghis  Khan,  and  the  bloody  Timourlane,  who,  with  their 
ruthless  hordes,  rushed  down  from  Tartary,  and  swept  over  the  north  of  Persia, 
where  these  Christians  were  found  in  larger  numbers,  need  not  here  be  told  ;  suf- 
fice it  to  say  they  nearly  annihilated  them,  making  their  rivers  run  red  with  their 
blood,  demolishing  their  churches,  scattering  their  sacred  books  and  literature 
upon  the  floods,  till  but  a  remnant  of  the  people  escaped  to  the  rugged  fastnesses 
of  the  Koordish  mountains.  Here  they  dwelt  among  the  wild  tribes  that  gave 
Xenophon  and  his  10,000  so  much  trouble  on  that  celebrated  retreat  from  Persia, 
built  their  rude  churches,  and  worshiped  after  the  manner  of  their  fathers. 
Later,  many  of  them  ventured  down  upon  the  plains  of  Persia,  in  the  northern 
Province  of  Azerbaijan,  where  they  have  lived,  when  practicable,  in  villages  by 
themselves ;  otherwise  mingling  with  Mussulmans  in  the  same  village,  tillers 
of  the  soil  which  they  are  not  practically  allowed  to  own.  The  masses  of  the 
people  are  Mussulmans,  and  Mohammedanism  is  the  religion  of  the  State  ;  hence 
these  Christians,  with  Armenians  and  Jews,  are  only  tolerated.  Their  condition 
is  that  of  serfs.     They  are  attached  to  the  soil,  and  when  a  village  changes 


owners,  the  people  go  with  it  to  a  new  master,  and  it  is  next  to  impossible  for 
a  poor,  oppressed  man  to  escape  with  his  family  to  another  village,  where 
there  may  chance  to  be  a  kinder  master.  The  political  condition  of  the  masses 
is  abject  in  the  extreme. 

The  government  is  an  absolute  monarchy,  and  life  and  death  are  in  the 
hands  of  the  Shah,  whose  will  none  may  dispute.  The  villages  in  the  Province 
of  Azerbaijan  are,  in  a  majority  of  cases,  owned  by  khans,  or  noblemen,  who 
become  responsible  to  the  government  for  the  taxes,  and  who  collect  them  from 
the  villagers,  usually  leaving  a  wide  margin  for  profit.  The  extortions  are  some- 
times fearful.  The  serf  is  not  generally  allowed  to  furnish  his  own  seed,  but  for 
the  tillage,  irrigation,  teams,  implements,  harvesting,  and  garnering,  he  receives 
one-third  of  the  crop,  and  often  but  a  fourth,  from  which  he  is  to  pay  his  taxes  and 
feed  a  set  of  hungry  servants  of  the  master,  employed  to  oversee  the  ingathering 
of  the  crops.  Often,  too,  the  master  takes  up  his  a.bode  for  the  summer  in  his 
village,  laying  the  poor  serfs  under  contribution  to  maintain  himself  and  family, 
servants,  and  horses.  The  villages  owned  by  the  crown  are  leased  to  the  highest 
bidder,  and  the  condition  of  the  tenantry  of  such,  is  often  well-nigh  intolerable. 
Labor  is  not  remunerative,  the  wages  of  a  common  day-laborer  being  but  from 
ten  to  fifteen,  and  in  a  time  of  pressure,  possibly  twenty  cents  a  day  ;  and  they 
must  board  themselves.  Hence  multitudes  go  to  Russia  for  work  in  the  sum- 
mer, and  return  in  the  fall.  Enduring  such  persecutions,  scattered  and  torn, 
oppressed  and  downtrodden,  with  their  literature  nearly  all  destroyed,  their  few 
books  in  manuscript,  andin  the  ancient  Syriac  tongue,  a  dead  language,  which 
only  their  priests  and  deacons  could  read,  and  hardly  any  of  them  could  under- 
stand or  translate,  that  old  and  apostolic  Church  has  maintained  the  faith  of  the 
apostles  in  far  greater  purity  than  any  other  oriental  Church.  They  have  clung 
to  the  Bible  with  the  greatest  tenacity,  an  appeal  to  which  was  always  a  suffi- 
cient answer.  They  were  without  pictures  or  images,  crucifixes  or  confessionals, 
or  worshiping  of  the  host ;  yet  they  were  ignorant,  degraded,  and  superstitious, 
holding  to  many  errors.  Roman  Catholics  called  them  Nestorians,  because 
they,  with  Nestorius,  rejected  the  dogma  that  "  Mary  was  the  mother  of  God." 
But  their  ecclesiastical  leaders  repudiated  the  name,  calling  themselves  St. 
Thomas  Christians. 

Their  polity  was  Episcopal,  having  deacons,  priests,  and  bishops.  The  chief 
bishop  was  elected  and  styled  Metropolitan,  and  Patriarch  of  the  Eastern 
Church.  They  maintained  the  daily  service  in  their  churches,  morning  and 
evening.  They  observed  a  season  of  fasting  before  every  communion  service, 
which  was  observed,  at  least,  a  dozen  times  a  year. 

The  more  pious  of  them  observed  the  "  fast  of  the  Apostles  " — seventy  days. 
All  were  very  strict  in  the  observance  of  Lent,  which  they  kept  fifty,  rather  than 
forty  days.  There  were  also  the  fasts  of  the  "Assumption,"  fifteen  days  ;  of  the 
11  Nativity,"  twenty-five  days  ;  of  "  Jonah,"  three  days  ;  and  they  fasted  twice  a 
week,  Wednesday  and  Friday.     Indeed,   they  were  very  religious,  as  are  all 


Eastern  people — Christian,  Jew,  Mohammedan,  and  heathen.  They  were  in 
great  need  of  the  Gospel,  and  yet  they  did  not  want  it.  They  feared  the  Lord 
and  served  their  own  gods.  The  masses  were  ignorant,  not  knowing  how  to 
read,  leaving  the  care  of  their  souls  very  much  to  their  priests,  who  eked 
out  a  scanty  livelihood  by  writing  charms,  baptizing  the  children,  marrying  the 
young,  burying  the  dead,  and  collecting  the  small  pittance  from  the  threshing- 
floors  in  the  autumn.  They  seemed  to  have  no  just  apprehension  of  the 
character  and  mission  of  Christ.  To  the  Nestorian,  He  wTas  about  what  Mo- 
hammed was  to  the  Mussulman,  simply  a  teacher,  and  one  whose  tragic  death 
they  celebrated  as  that  of  a  martyr.  They  confessed  themselves  sinners,  but  it 
would  seem  that  they  had  never  seen  the  plague  of  their  own  heart,  but  could 
atone  for  their  own  guilt,  by  fasts  and  alms-giving,  and  prayers.  "They  were 
dead,  twice  dead,  and  plucked  up  by  the  roots,"  and  yet  there  were  those  who 
seemed  to  be  waiting,  like  Simeon  of  old,  for  the  salvation  of  God.  Good  old 
Mar  Elias  received,  and  welcomed  with  joy,  the  missionaries,  and  abetted  their 
labors  from  the  first  till  his  death.  Others  also  seemed  ready  to  embrace  the 
truth  at  once. 

It  was  to  such  a  people,  the  remnant  of  an  ancient  sect,  brought  to  notice 
first  by  Dr.  Buchanan  in  his  "  Researches  in  the  East,"  and  by  Drs.  Smith  and 
Dwight,  who  visited  Oroomiah,  Persia,  in  1830,  that  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.  sent 
out,  in  1833,  the  Rev.  Dr.  Perkins,  and  soon  after,  Dr.  Grant,  with  their  wives. 
Dr.  Buchanan  had  only  seen  the  St.  Thomas  Christians  of  India,  who  informed 
him  of  the  same  sect  in  Persia. 

THE    WORK    AMONG    THE    NESTORIANS. 

Drs.  Smith  and  Dwight  made  only  a  hurried  visit  of  a  few  days,  as  the  plague 
was  then  raging  in  Oroomiah.  From  their  report,  the  way  seemed  open  for 
missionary  effort.  The  intention  was  to  labor  at  first  directly  for  the  Nestori- 
ans,  in  the  hope  that  through  the  revival  of  that  Church  the  way  would  be  open 
for  direct  effort  among  the  Mussulman  population.  The  missionaries  were  re- 
ceived with  a  cordial  welcome  by  all  classes,  who  seemed  to  recognize  in  them 
their  deliverers  from  ignorance  and  from  oppression.  They  said  to  the  mis- 
sionaries, Your  Bible  is  our  Bible,  your  faith  is  our  faith,  we  are  one.  We  and 
the  people  stood  on  one  common  basis,  viz.,  the  Word  of  God.  Hence  we 
were  not  regarded  as  schismatics  or  proselyters,  and  thus  we  escaped  interfer- 
ence on  the  part  of  the  government  with  our  work,  for  it  was  against  the  law  to 
proselyte  from  one  of  the  tolerated  sects  to  another,  and  death  was  the  penalty 
threatening  all  Mussulmans  who  should  abjure  their  faith  in  their  prophet  Mo- 
hammed. The  missionaries  acquired  the  difficult  tongue  of  the  Nestorians — the 
modern  Syriac,  also  the  Tartar-Turkish,  the  language  spoken  by  all  classes  north 
of  Teheran,  the  capital — and  some  acquired  the  Persian,  the  court  language. 
They  reduced  the  modern  Syriac  to  a  literature  ;  translated  the  Word  of  God  and 
printed  it  ;  organized  village  schools  to  teach  the  children  sufficiently  to  read 


6- 

the  Scriptures  ;  established  a  male  and  a  female  seminary  ;  made  long  tours,  and 
preached  everywhere.  As  the  spirituality  of  our  work  became  more  and  more 
evident,  and  the  hold  of  superstition  on  the  minds  of  the  ignorant  masses  was 
relaxed,  persecutions  arose,  instigated  by  the  priests  mainly,  and  by  the  Patri- 
arch. But  the  Lord  wonderfully  interposed  for  us,  as  often  as  persecutions  arose, 
and  delivered  us  from  the  paw  of  the  lion.  There  was  outward  prosperity,  but 
for  ten  years  the  work  was  preparing  the  soil,  and  sowing  the  seed.  The  first 
great  outpouring  of  the  Spirit  was  in  1846.  Simultaneously,  in  the  seminary 
taught  by  the  sainted  Miss  Fisk  in  the  city  of  Oroomiah,  and  in  that  on  Mount 
Seir,  taught  by  the  beloved  Stoddard,  the  cry  arose  from  the  youth,  ':  What  must 
we  do  to  be  saved?"  Of  that  wonderful  work  of  God,  and  of  the  subsequent 
and  repeated  refreshings  of  Divine  grace,  the  Church  has  been  informed.  Those 
seasons  partook  of  the  features  and  characteristics  of  the  times  of  Nettlelon. 
There  were  the  same  pungent  convictions  for  sin,  self-loathing,  and  sense  of  their 
lost  condition  ;  the  same  apprehension  of  the  mercy  of  God  in  Christ  to  forgive; 
the  same  appropriating  faith  which  took  hold  of  Christ  as  a  personal  Saviour; 
the  same  affectionate  commitment  of  their  entire  being  and  interests  to  the  Re- 
deemer ;  the  same  fruits  of  the  Spirit — love,  joy,  peace,  and  zeal  to  make  known 
to  others  the  story  of  Jesus  and  His  love.  Many  a  page  of  deeply  thrilling  inci- 
dents of  those  wonderful  scenes  could  be  written.  '  The  work  extended  to  the 
villages,  and  there  sprung  up  communities  of  believers  all  over  those  plains.  Old 
men  and  young  that  came  to  see,  went  away  contrite  sinners,  to  tell  what  a 
dear  Saviour  they  had  found,  so  that  there  was  scarcely  a  village  or  hamlet  on 
the  plains,  or  in  the  mountains,  where  the  news  of  these  strange  things  did  not 
come.  The  great  and  marked  change  in  the  lives  of  those  who  had  been  liars, 
profane  swearers,  Sabbath  breakers,  drunkards,  adulterers,  murderers,  and 
thieves,  astonished  the  people.  Here  was  Christianity  exemplified  in  the  lives 
of  those  who  professed  it.  It  amazed  the  Mussulman  merchant  and  master  to 
have  stolen  property  restored  ;  and  the  inquiry  arose,  "  Is  not  this  the  true 
faith?"  Whereas,  before,  the  oath  of  a  Christian  was  not  tiusted,  now  the 
word  of  these  converts  was  as  good  as  the  oath  of  a  Mussulman.  The  work 
hitherto  had  been  reformative,  now  it  was  regenerative,  and  the  influence  of 
the  grace  of  God  on  the  heart  was  seen  in  all  the  relations  of  life  ;  before,  they 
had  not  even  the  word  for  wife  or  home  ;  now  there  were  truly  the  wife  and  the 
home.  The  family  altar  was  erected,  and  morning  and  evening  the  voice  of 
prayer  and  praise  was  heard,  where  once  the  drunken  brawl  had  made  the 
house  a  pandemonium,  and  oaths  and  cursings,  bitterness  and  malice,  envy 
and  jealousy,  wrath  and  hate,  had  made  the  abode  one  of  wretchedness.  Be- 
fore, woman  had  been  treated  as  a  slave,  who  was  to  bear  the  burdens,  endure 
the  toil,  and  minister  to  the  passions  of  the  men.  Now,  through  the  power  of 
the  Gospel,  she  is  treated  kindly,  respected,  loved,  and  honored  ;  insomuch 
that  Mussulman  women  were  accustomed  to  say,  "The  missionaries  have 
brought  paradise  to   the    Nestorian  women  ;  would  that  they  might  teach  us 


and  our  husbands."  These  converts  were  ministered  to  by  the  young  men  and 
women  who  went  out  from  our  seminaries  as  pastors  and  pastors'  wives.  Scores 
have  died  in  the  triumphs  of  faith.  Hundreds  have  gone  to  Russia  and  else- 
where to  earn  their  bread,  and  hundreds  are  gathered  into  churches,  several  of 
which  are  entirely  self-supporting,  and  all  of  which  do  something  towards  the 
support  of  the  pastors  and  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel.  These  last  vary  in 
amount  according  to  their  ability,  giving  from  two  to  eleven  months  of  the 
salary  of  their  pastors,  building  their  own  churches,  and  supporting  mainly 
their  own  schools,  contributing  also  to  support  colporteurs  in  the  mountains 
and  other  districts,  and  to  send  pastors  among  their  own  people  in  Russia. 

They  show  much  of  the  missionary  zeal  of  their  ancestors,  and  there  are  many 
graduates  of  our  schools  who  long  to  go  forth  as  heralds  of  the  cross.  The  male 
seminary  has  done  a  great  work.  Our  lamented  brothers,  Stoddard  and 
Cochran,  still  live  in  the  scores  of  preachers  and  teachers  they  have  trained. 

Many  will  remember  the  wonderful  outpouring  of  a  spirit  of  benevolence 
some  fifteen  years  ago,  when  the  small  bands  of  these  poor  and  oppressed 
Christians  in  Oroomiah  contributed  of  their  deep  poverty,  one  year,  about  $2,000. 
Ah,  how  those  Marys  broke  their  alabaster  boxes,  and  how  precious  was  the 
perfume,  as  it  wafted  over  to  other  mission  fields,  and  stimulated  and  provoked 
to  like  self-denial  and  sacrifice,  and  so  the  great  work  of  getting  native  churches 
on  to  a  self-supporting  basis  was  facilitated. 

MOHAMMEDANS. 

The  object  of  the  mission  to  eventually,  and  as  soon  as  the  way  should  be 
open,  reach,  and  put  forth  more  active  efforts,  for  the  ruling  class — the  Mussul- 
mans— has  ever  been  kept  steadily  in  view. 

A  great  deal  had  been  incidentally  and  indirectly  done  for  them.  The  Scriptures- 
in  Persian  were  circulated,  and  isolated  cases  of  great  interest  were  found.  It 
is  many  years  since  application  has  been  made  to  us  by  hopefully  converted 
Mussulmans  for  Christian  baptism.  So  long  as  we  had  our  hands  more  than 
full  of  precious  work  for  those  to  whom  it  was  lawful  to  preach  the  Gospel,  we 
did  not  deem  it  wise  to  jeopardize  our  very  existence,  as  a  mission,  by  more 
active  and  aggressive  work  among  these,  over  whose  heads  hung  the  death  pen- 
alty for  professing  Christianity,  and  yet  such  was  the  silent,  but  powerful  influence 
of  the  Gospel  there,  that  very  many  began  to  inquire  more  particularly  of  this 
new  doctrine,  and  to  come  to  us  for  private  and  earnest  conversation,  and  to 
send  to  us  to  visit  them  in  their  houses,  both  in  the  city  and  in  the  villages,  and 
to  purchase  of  us  the  Scriptures,  and  to  spend,  not  unfrequently,  nearly  the 
whole  night  with  our  helpers,  in  the  villages,  in  serious  discussions  concerning 
Christ  ;  His  nature,  and  work.  Some  appeared  to  be  willing  to  risk  their  own 
lives,  by  professing  Christ  in  the  rite  of  baptism,  and  persistently  requested  it 
of  us.  The  silent,  yet  powerful  influences  upon  the  Mussulman  mind,  of  the 
humane  efforts   put  forth,  from  the  first,  by  the   Missionaries  for  all  classes, 


8 

did  much  to  win  their  confidence.  In  times  of  pestilence,  plague,  cholera, 
famine,  and  sickness,  or  other  distress,  they  saw  us  ever  ready  to  extend  the 
hand  of  help,  and  even  risk  our  own  lives  for  the  good  of  others.  The  influence, 
too,  of  our  teachings  upon  those  who  came  under  our  instructions,  the  power 
of  a  vitalized  Church,  a  living  Christianity,  told  upon  their  minds.  But  the 
wonderful  exhibition  of  Christian  charity  toward  all  classes,  regardless  of  sect, 
in  the  time  of  that  fearful  famine,  which  carried  off,  according  to  official  returns, 
three  millions  of  the  population  of  Persia,  especially  opened  their  eyes  to  see 
the  superiority  of  the  Christian  religion  over  theirs.  Their  religion  required 
the  exercise  of  charity  towards  Mussulmans.  But  they  despised  Christians  as 
do^s,  who  might  be  tolerated,  provided  they  paid  tribute,  and  were  entirely 
subservient  to  their  masters,  and  profitable  as  serfs  and  menials.  But  lo,  those 
despised  ones  were  sending  them  bread.  Again  the  question  arose  in  their  minds, 
Is  not  this  the  true  faith  ?  Multitudes  of  the  common  people  heard  us  gladly. 
The  poor,  famine-stricken  ones  thronged  our  gates,  and  dispersed  among  the 
villages  of  the  Christians,  where  they  hoped  to  obtain  a  pittance.  Committees 
of  Christian  men  were  organized  to  distribute  faithfully  the  charity  of  American, 
English,  and  German  Christians,  and  thus  multitudes  were  saved.  This  fearful 
scourge  threw  into  our  hands  some  orphan  girls,  poor  waifs,  with  none  to  care 
for  them.  These  we  gathered  into  a  school,  and  here  is  the  germ  of  our  more 
active  work  among  the  Mussulmans. 

Another  thing  very  favorable  is  the  tradition  among  the  Mussulmans  that 
the  twelfth  and  last  Tmaum  is  to  come,  and  his  advent  is  predicted  as  near. 
And  the  wonderful  fact  about  it  is,  that  this  is  none  other  than  Christ  himself. 
When  He  shall  come,  all  will  embrace  the  true  faith,  as  He  shall  reveal  it. 
All  these  and  other  influences  have  tended  to  weaken  greatly  the  hold  which 
Mohammedanism  has  upon  large  numbers  of  the  more  thinking  class  of  people 
in  Persia.  Persecutions  have  arisen,  but  as  yet  no  one  has  been  called  on  to 
•seal  his  testimony  with  his  blood.  The  bastinado  has  been  used,  and  men 
have  been  beaten  unmercifully  ;  they  have  been  put  in  chains  and  prison. 
But  cur  place  for  prayer  in  Tabriz,  though  for  a  time  deserted,  was  again 
filled.  The  dear  brother  who  was,  with  several  others,  so  beaten,  has  been 
laboring  since  as  a  colporteur,  and  preaching  Christ  to  his  countrymen  in 
city  and  village,  and  people  gather  about  him  in  knots  of  from  ten  to  two 
hundred,  and  listen  to  his  simple,  yet  forcible  and  unanswerable  arguments, 
as  he  compares,  or  rather  contrasts,  Christ  with  Mohammed.  The  spirit  of 
inquiry  seems  to  be  greatly  on  the  increase,  and  many  gather  in  little  circles, 
by  night,  to  talk  over  these  wonderful  themes  of  the  soul  and  its  salvation. 
The  missionary  is  sent  for  to  visit  distant  villages,  to  preach  to  waiting  com- 
panies of  eager  listeners.  Our  Nestorian  pastors  find  ample  opportunities 
to  tell  the  old  story,  which  seems  so  new  to  the  wondering  groups,  and  they 
are  very  glad  to  leave  their  homes  and  go  forth  to  the  exclusively  Mussulman 
villages  to  do  this.     They  find  very  much  to  encourage  them.     Some  villages 


have  *ven  gone  so  far  as  to  apply  for  Nestorian  preachers  and  teachers.  Re- 
quests are  becoming  frequent  for  baptism,  and  several  have  received  the  sacred 
rite.  The  first  Mussulman  woman  has,  with  her  husband,  sat  at  the  table  of 
Christ  in  the  Holy  Supper.  Mussulman  girls  persistently  plead  to  be  allowed 
to  attend  the  Female  Seminary,  where  Nestorian  girls  are  taught,  and  they  have 
been  admitted,  and  dip  their  hands  in  the  same  dish  with  them  as  they  eat,  a 
thing  very  reprehensible  in  the  eyes  of  good  Mussulmans,  who  consider  it  cere- 
monial uncleanness  to  touch  a  Christian,  or  eat  his  food,  or  anything  he  has 
handled.  So  rapidly  are  prejudices  giving  way,  and  so  marked  are  God's 
providences,  that  we  sometimes  stand  utterly  amazed.  The  call  is  loud  for 
more  missionaries.  Two  are  needed  in  Hamadan,  two  in  Resht,  and  we  should 
have  a  station  in  Ispahan.  That  city  is  needed  for  the  development  of  our  work 
through  the  Armenians  living  in  Jul  fa,  on  the  opposite  side  of  the  Zinderood. 
Unless  our  Church  and  Board  follow  up  the  grand  and  inviting  openings  in 
that  land,  other  societies  will  step  in,  and  this  they  are  beginning  to  do.  O, 
when  shall  our  reunited  Church  rise  to  her  sublime  and  glorious  work,  and  take 
her  true  position  as  an  agency  in  bringing  the  world  back  to  Christ  and  God  ? 

STATIONS  OF  THE  BOARD. 

Our  mission  was  called  the  Mission  to  the  Nestorians  till  1870,  when  the 
name  was  changed  to  its  present  one.  Soon  after  this  it  came  under  the  care  of 
the  General  Assembly.  The  working  force  from  this  country  is,  at  present, 
distributed  in  Oroomiah,  Teheran,  and  Tabriz.  In  Oroomiah,  are  Rev.  Messrs. 
Stocking,  Oldfather,  Whipple,  and  Dr.  Holmes,  and  their  wives  ;  the  widow 
of  Mr,  Cochran,  and  two  single  ladies.  Their  field  embraces  the  three  plains 
of  Oroomiah,  Salinas,  and  Sooldoos,  skirting  the  sea  of  Oroomiah  on  the  west ; 
and  three  adjacent  plains  between  these,  and  higher  up,  nearer  the  Koordish 
mountains,  farther  west ;  and  the  more  rugged  portion  of  Koordistan,  lying  in 
E.  Turkey,  and  bordering  on  Persia.  The  mass  of  the  Nestorians  is  in  these 
mountains.  Their  labors  are  directed  to  all  classes,  Jews,  Nestorians,  Arme- 
nians, and  Moslems,  as  the  Lord  gives  opportunity  and  strength. 

The  number  of  native  pastors,  helpers,  and  teachers  is  large,  and  furnishes 
several  men  to  help  in  the  working  of  the  nearer  stations  at  Teheran  and  Tabriz, 
and  among  the  Nestorians  who  have  gone  to  Russia.  In  Teheran,  are  Rev.  J. 
Bassett  and  his  wife,  Rev.  J.  L.  Potter,  and  a  teacher  of  the  girls'  school.  This  sta- 
tion has  under  its  care  the  populations  in  and  about  the  capital,  and  embraces 
Ispahan  on  the  south,  Zend  and  Resht  on  the  east,  and  Hamadan  and  vicinity 
on  the  west.  Teheran  has  been  occupied  by  native  helpers  some  years,  but 
Mr.  Bassett  removed  there  in  the  autumn  of  1872.  Pie  was  reinforced  in 
1874  by  Mr.  Potter,  and  in  1875  by  Miss  Bassett,  the  teacher. 

Already  the  church  there  numbers  seventeen.  The  Jews  attend  their  services 
in  large  numbers.  Weekly  contributions  are  taken.  The  brethren  feel  much 
encouraged,  but  regret   that   their   work   must  be  embarrassed  in   the    south 


io 

and  east  by  the  coming  in  of  other  societies.  Ispahan  should  have  had  Amer- 
ican missionaries  to  occupy  that  field  and  follow  up  the  poineer  work  of  our 
Nestorian  colporteurs  and  helpers  there. 

In  Tabriz  are  Rev.  P.  Z.  Easton  and  wife,  and  Miss  Jewett,  who  went  there 
in  the  autumn  of  1873.  Rev.  13.  Labaree,  Jr.,  who  has  just  arrived  out,  after 
a  respite  of  three  years,  and  whose  work  is  mainly  the  translation  of  the 
Scriptures  into  the  Tartar-Turkish,  and  thus  reducing  that  dialect,  or  rather 
the  mother  of  all  Turkish,  to  a  literature,  had  not,  at  last  accounts,  decided 
whether  to  return  to  his  old  home  in  Oroomiah,  or  take  up  his  residence  in 
Tabriz.  Rev.  S.  L.  Ward  and  his  wife  and  Mrs.  VanHook  are  now  on  their  way 
to  Persia,  to  be  associated  with  laborers  in  Tabriz.  The  work  there  is  in  that 
great  city  of  two  hundred  thousand  inhabitants,  and  in  the  adjacent  districts, 
and  is  hitherto  mostly  initiatory  ;  but  our  brother,  who  has  been  so  long  with- 
out an  associate,  feels  greatly  encouraged,  and  has  long  pleaded  for  help,  and 
has  generously  contributed  $500  to  the  Board  to  send  out  an  associate.  He  cer- 
tainly appreciates  the  work  to  be  done,  and  the  opportunities,  and  the  urgency 
of  following  them  up.  We  can  not  give  the  number  of  the  little  church  there, 
but  we  know  some  of  them  as  dearly  beloved  brethren  and  fellow-laborers  in 
the  work  of  the  Gospel.  We  know,  too,  some  who  have  endured  persecution 
for  Christ's  sake  and  the  Gospel's,  and  that  all  give  of  their  substance  to 
maintain  the  institutions  of  the  Gospel.  A  little  before  we  left  for  America,  a 
company  of  Mussulman  youth  called  upon  the  writer,  and  literally  embracing 
him,  with  tears  plead  for  his  speedy  return,  and  for  more  missionaries. 

But  to  return  to  Oroomiah.  God  continues  to  smile  upon  the  labors  of  His 
servants.  There  are,  I  believe,  about  thirty  churches,  besides  many  other 
preaching  places,  nuclei  of  other  churches  to  be  more  formally  organized. 
These  churches  number  from  ten  or  twelve,  to  between  one  hundred  and  two 
hundred.  The  district  of  Oroomiah  is  traversed  by  three  streams,  which,  fed 
by  the  perpetual  snows  of  the  mountains,  flow  over  the  plain  of  Oroomiah  to 
the  sea,  irrigating,  by  numerous  artificial  streams  and  canals,  their  fields  of  wheat, 
barley,  rice,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  and  their  orchards  and  extensive  vineyards, 
and  cucumber  and  melon  grounds.  On  each  of  these  three  rivers  is  a  cnooshya, 
in  the  semi-annual  meetings  of  which  the  churches  are  represented  through 
their  pastors  and  elders.  Here  all  questions  pertaining  to  the  welfare  and 
growth  of  the  Church  ;  means  and  measures  for  its  purity,  discipline,  and  effi- 
ciency, are  discussed,  as  well  as  the  outside  work  of  schools,  temperance  reform, 
and  active  labor  for  the  masses  about  them,  etc.  To  these  churches  there 
were  added  last  year  seventy-eight  new  members,  and  ninety-six  others  were 
propounded  for  admission.  These  items  do  not  include  the  report  of  the 
mountain  department  of  the  work.  A  letter  just  received  from  Kasha  Badal, 
a  Nestorian  pastor,  gives  the  following  cheering  intelligence.  After  expressing 
his  love  and  gratitude,  he  says  :  "  The  work  of  the  Lord  has  prospered  greatly 
with  us  this  year.     He  has  revealed  His  love  in  the  gentle  showers  of  grace. 


II 

Our  congregations  have  been  full  on  the  Sabbath,  and  the  neighborhood  prayer- 
meetings  well  attended.  There  have  already,  this  year,  united  with  us  on  pro- 
fession of  their  faith,  thirteen.  Nineteen  more  are  propounded  for  admission 
at  our  next  communion,  and  ten  more  indulge  in  hope.  Fourteen  children 
have  been  baptized,  and  sixteen  couples  married.  We  have  raised  nearly  one 
hundred  dollars,  my  salary,  fifteen  dollars  for  mats  for  the  church,  twenty  for  a 
bell  to  take  the  place  of  the  one  stolen,  twenty-five  for  repairs  on  the  church. 
We  have  also  made  an  arbor  for  vines  in  our  church-yard,  and  planted  the 
vines  at  an  expense  of  about  six  dollars. 

"  Give  our  hearty  thanks  to  the  dear  friends  who  contributed  to  furnish  our 
church  with  a  communion  service. 

"  On  the  temperance  question  we  are  a  unit.  Our  church  is  harmonious. 
Old  and  young  send  great  love  to  you,  and  long  to  see  you  again." 

The  churches  have  pretty  generally  adopted  the  rule  of  requiring  the  tem- 
perance pledge  from  all  who  wish  to  unite  with  them,  and  but  one  or  two 
cases  of  discipline  had  occurred.  The  churches  seem  united,  and  growing  in 
efficiency,  and  more  and  more  a  power  for  good  in  the  great  work  of  Persia's 
regeneration.  True,  disturbing  influences,  such  as  the  coming  in  of  other 
agencies,  and  the  unworthy  conduct  of  men  whom  we  have  trusted,  but  who 
in  time  of  temptation  and  provocation,  have  gone  away  from  us,  may  come 
in  and  apparently  retard  the  work,  but  we  believe  these  will  be  but  the 
refluent  waves  of  a  true  progress.  Our  mission  to  Persia  has  been  wonder- 
fully owned  and  blessed  of  God,  and  especially  favored  by  His  providential 
care.  It  has  been  one  of  the  most  economically  conducted  of  our  Board, 
when  we  consider  the  outlay  and  the  work  that  has  been  done.  But  our 
very  success  will  hereafter  call  for  larger  expenditures  in  men  and  means. 
Shall  we  look  in  vain  to  the  noble  churches  of  our  land  to  come  to  the  rescue  ? 

The  men  are  falling  at  the  front.  Fourteen  American  male  and  six  fe- 
male missionaries  connected  with  our  missions  have  fallen.  Others  with  their 
hearts  still  in  Persia,  are  trying  to  recruit  their  broken  health  in  this  country. 

Missionaries  who  give  their  lives  and  so  largely  of  their  limited  means  are 
worthy  of  support.  Native  brethren  who  give  of  their  poverty  more  than  a 
tenth  of  their  scanty  earnings,  and  remain  in  prayer  from  early  dawn  till  after 
noon,  forgetful  of  the  food  needful  for  the  body,  are  worthy  of  sympathy  and 
aid.  God  is  moving  on  rapidly  in  His  providences,  opening  the  way  for  His 
people,  and  calling  them  to  enter  in  and  possess  Persia  for  Christ.  Other  and 
untoward  influences  will  seek  to  pre-occupy  the  ground. 

The  system  of  Mohammedanism  is  doomed  to  fall.  Mussulmans  themselves 
are  expecting  it.  That  system  of  error,  towering  so  high  and  frowning  so  fear- 
fully along  the  ages,  hoary  with  the  centuries,  is  sapped  and  mined,  and  ready 
to  crumble  to  the  ground.  Some  of  us  have  seen  the  great  iceberg  at  sea,  lift- 
ing its  towering  head,  sublime  and  glistening,  in  the  strong  rays  of  a  summer 
.sun,  beaten  by  the  storms,  and  by  genial  showers,  drifting  on  to  still  warmer 


12 

seas,  lashed  by  the  swaying  billows,  all  honeycombed  and  rotten  to  the  core. 
We  looked,  it  crumbled  and  disappeared  beneath  the  waves  forever.  So  we 
need  not  be  surprised  to  see,  at  any  moment,  the  fall  of  Mohammedanism.  Is 
the  Church  bought  with  Christ's  blood  ready  to  step  in  and  occupy  the  ground  ? 
Your  color-bearers  are  at  the  front !     Rally  around  them. 

In  the  letter  of  Mr.  Whipple  our  readers  will  see  that  God  is  still  blessing 
the  work  among  the  Nestorians. 

There  are  urgent  appeals  for  both  men  and  means.  The  missionaries,  owing 
to  the  lack  of  funds,  are  unable  to  employ  a  number  of  young  men  well  suited 
to  the  field  and  its  demands.  At  Teheran  we  do  not  own  a  single  building. 
A  loud  and  urgent  appeal  has  come,  asking  for  means  to  provide  a  home  for 
the  laborers,  and  for  school  and  chapel.  A  similar  plea  comes  from  Oroomiah, 
for  the  erection  of  a  seminary  building  for  the  training  of  young  men  for  mis- 
sionary service.  The  Board  can  not  respond  to  these  entreaties.  Will  not  the 
friends  of  Persia  consider  them  ? 


7- 


CHRISTIANITY  and   HINDOOISM. 


AN  ADDRESS 


BY 


Rev.    T.    S.    WYNKOOP, 


AND 


A   LETTER   FROM   Rev.   J.   WILSON. 


NEW    YORK: 

BOARD  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS,  23  Centre  Street. 

1877. 


CHRISTIANITY   AND    HINDOOISM. 

An  Address  Delivered  in  the  Fifth  Avenue  Church,  New   York,  by 

Rev.  T.  S.  Wy?ikoop. 

In  accepting  the  invitation  of  your  pastor  to  address  you  upon  the  subject 
of  our  missionary  work  in  India,  I  feel  myself  in  some  sort  discharging  a 
personal  obligation.  One  of  the  chief  discouragements  in  that  work  for  the 
last  few  years  has  been  the  want  of  funds,  due  to  financial  difficulties  in  this 
country ;  embarrassing  our  Board  in  all  its  operations,  rendering  serious 
retrenchment  necessary,  and  sometimes  threatening  to  cripple  our  missions. 
Missionaries  on  the  ground  feel  this  most  keenly.  An  order  for  retrenchment 
passed  in  the  rooms  of  the  Board  of  Missions  seems  to  the  members  of  the 
Board  a  safe  financial  policy,  and  to  many  good  men  at  home  the  only  wise 
and  prudent  course.  It  may  be  so.  But  it  looks  differently  to  the  men  from 
whom  the  money  is  withheld,  whose  chosen  enterprises  must  be  curtailed  or 
abandoned,  whose  wise  plans  for  the  future  must  be  postponed  perhaps  indef- 
initely, who  must  often  lose  even  the  fruits  of  past  success  because  they  may 
not  push  forward  to  secure  them. 

In  such  circumstances,  the  reports  of  great  efforts  made  by  this  church  to 
relieve  the  funds  of  our  Board,  and  the  munificent  gifts  of  individual  mem- 
bers of  the  congregation  in  times  of  special  difficulty,  have  endeared  your 
church  and  its  honored  pastor  as  by  a  tie  of  personal  gratitude  to  many  a 
missionary  and  in  many  a  mission  station.  We  have  felt  that  our  necessities 
were  remembered  here,  that  here  sympathy  was  taking  its  most  practical  form 
in  that  help  which  was  so  much  needed,  without  which  our  hearts  would  have 
been  still  more  saddened  and  our  operations  still  more  embarrassed  by  the 
necessity  of  yet  further  retrenchment.  I  speak  not  alone  for  myself,  but  for 
my  missionary  brethren,  when  I  thank  you  for  your  large  contributions,  often 
so  opportunely  given,  for  the  conspicuous  example  you  have  set  to  our  entire 
Church,  and  for  the  sympathy  and  prayer  with  which  your  gifts  have  been 
consecrated. 

Within  a  few  years  past  India  has  been  brought  into  unusual  prominence  in 
the  thoughts  and  interests  of  the  Christian  world.  Distinguished  travelers, 
British  and  American,  have  visited  it,  and  their  letters  and  books  of  travel 
have  been  widely  read.     The   problems  connected  with  its  government  by 


4  Christianity  and  Hindooism. 

Great  Britain,  and  its  material  and  moral  progress  under  that  government, 
have  been  largely  discussed  in  the  best  magazines  and  reviews  of  the  day. 
Able  missionary  and  other  lecturers  have  described  its  scenery,  works  of  art, 
and  social  and  religious  customs,  before  large  audiences  throughout  the 
country.  The  splendid  pageantry  connected  with  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of 
Wales,  and  more  recently  with  the  proclaiming  of  the  Queen  as  Empress  of 
India,  has  attracted  the  attention  of  all  readers  of  our  newspapers.  Recent 
distressing  cyclones,  famines,  and  outbreaks  of  epidemic  diseases  have  touched 
the  sympathies  of  the  whole  world.  This  increasing  interest  in  India  and 
information  about  it  can  not  but  be  a  help  to  our  mission  cause,  as  it  brings 
India  so  much  more  within  the  circle  of  our  thoughts,  and  makes  us  more 
familiar  with  its  condition  and  necessities. 

Assuming,  then,  your  intelligent  interest  in  India  and  in  our  missions  there, 
I  wish  to  speak  first  of  the  chief  obstacles  which  Hindooism  opposes  to  Chris- 
tianity ;  then  of  certain  difficulties  which  beset  the  Christian  enterprise  arising 
from  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  its  introduction  into  India  and  relation  to 
the  government  of  the  country;  and  finally  of  the  results  accomplished  by 
our  missions  and  the  outlook  for  the  future. 

The  first,  and  by  far  the  greatest  obstacle  to  the  entrance  and  spread  of 
Christian  truth  in  India,  is  the  prevalent  philosophy  which  forms  the  staple  of 
the  thought  of  the  people.  It  has  been  truly  said  that  the  tendency  of  the  Aryan 
mind,  whether  in  India,  Greece,  or  modern  Europe,  has  always  been  toward 
Pantheism.  The  Brahmins  represent  that  tendency  in  its  least  modified  form. 
In  early  times  the  Aryan  ancestors  of  the  modern  Hindoos  were  doubtless 
Monotheists.  Three  thousand  years  ago,  when  they  first  appear  upon  the 
stage  of  history,  they  had  so  far  departed  from  the  primitive  faith  that  they 
were  worshipers,  according  to  the  Vedic  ritual,  of  the  Creator  as  symbolized 
by  the  powers  of  nature,  the  Sun-god,  the  Rain-god,  the  Fire-god,  the  God  of 
Night,  of  the  Dawn,  and  the  like.  A  few  Vedic  names  and  phrases  are  still 
in  use  ;  a  few  Vedic  hymns  are  still  chanted,  as  incantations  and  sacred 
formulas,  without  any  understanding  of  their  meaning.  Other  than  this,  the 
Vedas  bear  not  the  slightest  relation  to  the  thought  or  worship  of  the  modern 
Hindoos.  No  nation  ever  departed  more  widely  or  entirely  from  its  own 
original  sacred  writings.  A  Hindoo  reformer  has  lately  excited  much  atten- 
tion in  the  leading  cities  of  Northern  India.  His  one  book  is  the  Vedic 
Scriptures,  and  his  one  object  to  bring  back  his  people  to  the  Vedic  faith  and 
worship.  No  Christian  missionary  meets  with  more  universal  and  determined 
opposition  than  he.  In  Benares  his  life  was  in  danger  at  the  hands  of  his 
fellow-pundits.  Very  many  of  the  people  regard  him  as  a  Christian  emissary 
in  disguise. 

This  great  change  of  religion  is  principally  due  to  the  influence  of  the 
Hindoo  philosophy,  the  rise  and  early  history  of  which  is  involved  in  consider- 
able obscurity.     It  seems  most  probable  that  as  much  as  eight  hundred  years 


Christianity  and  Hindooism.  5 

before  Christ,  men  of  deep  thought  and  austere  life,  by  the  banks  of  the 
Ganges  or  the  Saraswati,  laid  at  least  the  foundations  of  what  afterward  be- 
came the  Six  Schools  of  Hindoo  Philosophy.  Into  the  intricacies  of  these 
schools  it  would  not  be  profitable  to  enter.  Our  object  is  rather  to  note  the 
popular  thought  resulting  from  these  systems,  as  influencing  the  religion  of 
India  to-day. 

If  we  were  asked  to  name  the  two  conceptions  most  fundamental  to  all 
Christian  doctrine,  the  answer  would  be,  the  personality  of  God  and  the  indi- 
viduality of  the  soul  of  man.  God  is  ;  I  am.  He  is  the  Creator  ;  I  am  His 
creature.  Under  His  government  I  have  my  being.  Before  me  there  lies  an 
endless  existence,  which  is  supported  indeed  by  Him,  but  never  to  be  con- 
fused or  identified  with  Him.  The  fundamental  conceptions  of  Pantheism 
are  the  direct  contradictories  of  these. 

The  Hindoo  is  convinced  that  God  is.  His  mind  and  heart  are  pro- 
foundly impressed  with  Deity.  His  thinking,  more  than  that  of  perhaps 
any  other  people,  begins  and  ends  with  God  ;  but  not  in  the  sense  of  a 
personal  being.  God  is  Spirit  in  the  abstract;  the  Vast  or  Infinite;  the 
One-Without-a-Second,  that  is,  the  One  besides  whom  there  is  no  existence ; 
the  Unconditioned,  and  therefore,  in  any  higher  sense,  the  Unknown  and 
Unknowable.  To  conceive  of  Deity  under  the  form  of  person  or  ascribe  to 
God  personal  attributes,  is  to  limit  the  Absolute  and  Infinite.  Properly 
speaking,  God  is  That. 

The  Hindoo  will  use  terms  in  speaking  of  God  which  we  are  accustomed 
to  associate  only  with  the  idea  of  personality ;  but  he  does  not  so  associate 
them.  Nothing  that  involves  either  action  or  passion  can  be  attributed  to 
God.  Divesting  our  words  of  all  thought  of  personality  we  may  conceive  of 
God  under  the  three-fold  form — of  unlimited  existence,  intelligence,  and  felicity. 
One  of  the  chief  names  applied  to  God  in  religious  conversation  is  a  com- 
pound word  in  four  syllables  uniting  those  three  conceptions.  God  is  the 
Infinite,  Eternal,  Being-Thought-Joy,  but  without  the  limitations  of  per- 
sonality. 

Besides  God  there  is  absolutely  nothing  of  which  Existence,  Thought,  or  Joy 
can  be  predicated.  If  there  were  anything  which  is  not  God,  then  God  would 
not  be  infinite.  All  which  really  exists  is  God,  and  whatever  is  not  God  has 
no  real  existence.  We  are  beyond  all  question  conscious  of  much  that  is  not 
God.  Here  the  extremest  idealism  comes  to  the  aid  of  the  pantheistic  argu- 
ment, and  declares  that  all  which  is  not  God  is  illusion,  phantasm,  deception. 
Two  categories  thus  embrace  all  objects  of  thought,  the  Real  and  the  Unreal. 
In  the  Real,  God  alone  is  placed.  Everything  that  is  not  God  falls  within  the 
Unreal. 

To  this  corresponds  the  Hindoo  idea  of  what  we  have  learned  from  the 
Christian  stand-point  to  call  creation.  God  is  the  cause  of  the  material  and 
spiritual  universe,   so  far  as  these  have  real  existence,  but  not  by  creation. 


6  Christianity  and  Hindooism, 

All  that  exists  is,  if  we  may  so  speak,  a  projection  of  the  Infinite  Spirit.  It 
is  the  diffusion  of  the  Divine  Essence,  and  is  properly  not  material,  but  spirit- 
ual, since  that  Essence  is  spiritual,  not  material.  This  marks,  as  I  conceive, 
the  main  difference  between  Hindoo  Pantheism  on  the  one  side,  and  European 
and  American  Pantheism  on  the  other.  The  latter  is  predominantly  realistic, 
and  hence  material ;  while  the  Hindoo  is  idealistic  and  therefore  spiritual  in  its 
form. 

It  follows  from  these  principles  that  the  soul  of  man  is  God.  Its  concep- 
tion of  being  an  individual  existence  other  than  God  is  false  and  vain. 
To  escape  from  that  false  conception  and  its  practical  results  is  the  chief  end 
of  man.  The  constant  illustration  is  a  drop  of  water,  drawn  from  the  ocean 
by  the  sun's  rays,  now  floating  in  vapor,  now  falling  in  rain  upon  the  earth, 
absorbed  by  a  flower,  exhaled  again  and  re-formed  as  a  dewdrop,  passing 
through  phase  after  phase  of  existence,  but  all  the  while  an  essential  part  of 
the  sea  whence  it  came.  The  soul  is  eternal ;  drawn  from  its  resting  place, 
as  the  drop  from  the  ocean,  it  passes  in  transmigration  after  transmigration 
from  one  stage  of  existence  to  another  and  another,  higher  or  lower,  according 
to  an  invariable  necessity  which  requires  that  all  deeds  and  words  and 
thoughts  shall  receive  their  due  recompense  of  reward  or  punishment.  Our 
present  state  was  determined  by  what  we  did  in  previous  states  of  existence  ; 
and  what  we  now  do  will  determine  our  future  births.  Meanwhile  we  have 
lost  the  consciousness  of  our  divinity  and  come  under  the  power  of  the  un- 
real and  illusory.  And  the  misery  of  our  present  state  consists  in  our  two- 
fold bondage ;  first,  the  bondage  of  deeds,  whereby  we  are  compelled  to  pass 
from  one  stage  to  another  in  the  endless  round  of  transmigrations,  unable  to 
escape  the  inevitable  retribution  or  avoid  the  deeds  which  require  that  retribu- 
tion ;  and,  second,,  the  bondage  of  ignorance,  which  holds  us  in  subjection  to 
the  illusory  and  prevents  us  from  rising  to  the  consciousness  of  our  true  origin 
and  nature. 

Hindoo  philosophy  teaches,  with  a  fine  instinctive  spirituality,  that  the  chief 
aim  of  man  is  the  attainment  of  salvation.  Health,  wealth,  honors,  pleasures, 
friends,  all  fall  under  the  category  of  the  unreal,  and  are  unworthy  the  atten- 
tion of  the  wise.  But  this  salvation  is  not,  as  we  understand  it,  deliverance 
from  moral  evil  and  its  effects,  together  with  the  perfect  development  of  the 
individual  soul  in  all  its  powers  and  capacities,  and  the  attainment  of  eternal 
happiness.  Salvation  is  liberation,  and  liberation  is  to  cut  off  the  long  suc- 
cession of  birth  after  birth,  to  escape  from  our  separate  existence  and  lose 
ourselves  in  God,  from  whom  we  came.  To  recur  to  the  illustration  ;  the 
rain-drop,  changing  from  place  to  place  and  form  to  form  as  the  very  sport  of 
nature,  attains  at  length  its  supreme  felicity,  when,  falling  from  a  cloud,  or 
flowing  with  a  multitude  of  other  drops  in  the  current  of  some  great  river,  it 
reaches  once  more  the  sea  and  is  at  rest.  So  for  the  soul  of  man,  its  highest 
good,  its  only  good,  is  to  merge  again  in  the  fullness  of  the  Eternal  Spirit,  to 


Christianity  and  Hindooism.  7 

attain  the  state  of  the  unconditioned,  to  lose  itself  in  the  ocean  of  Existence, 
Thought,  and  Blessedness. 

How  may  this  liberation  be  attained  ?  By  the  removal  of  that  false  concep- 
tion which  binds  us  down  in  the  realms  of  the  unreal  and  illusory ;  so  that 
one  can  say,  "I  am  the  Eternal,  Self-existent,  Infinite  God,"  with  the  same 
intuitive  apprehension  which  a  hungry  man  has  when  he  says,  "  I  hunger." 
He  who  has  attained  this  apprehension  has  no  longer  passion,  or  any  prompt- 
ing within  him  to  lead  to  action.  He  has  escaped  from  the  bondage  of  deeds. 
With  the  cessation  of  action  and  passion,  there  ceases  the  necessity  for  con- 
tinued existence,  in  which  the  measure  of  reward  and  punishment  may  be 
meted  out.  With  the  necessity  of  continued  existence  the  reason  for  future 
transmigrations  ceases.  It  remains  but  for  the  soul,  now  liberated  from 
bondage  to  the  material  and  unreal,  to  pass  away  forever  from  suffering. 
The  finite  has  again  become  the  infinite.  The  drop  has  merged  in  the 
ocean. 

We  can  not  enter  here  upon  any  extended  criticism  of  this  system  of 
thought.  You  will  observe  that  all  its  conceptions  of  God,  of  nature,  of 
man,  of  the  cause  and  nature  of  human  misery  and  woe,  and  of  the  way  in 
which  these  may  be  escaped,  are  false  and  misleading  in  the  highest  degree. 
Pantheism  is  not  even  a  religion,  properly  so-called;  since  there  can  be 
neither  worship  nor  service,  to  say  nothing  of  love  and  personal  devotion, 
where  there  is  no  personal  God. 

You  will  notice  that  in  this  system  there  is  no  place  for  morality.  Logically, 
Pantheism  knows  neither  right  nor  wrong.  If  God  be  the  only  existence,  all 
that  takes  place  must  be  referred  to  God.  The  distinction  which  we  instinct- 
ively make  between  right  and  wrong  has  no  place  in  the  essence  of  things 
but  belongs  to  the  category  of  the  unreal.  It  is  true  that  righteousness  is 
better  than  unrighteousness,  but  neither  is  better  than  either  of  them.  Right- 
eousness must  be  rewarded,  hence  the  soul's  separate  existence  must  be  con- 
tinued and  its  liberation  postponed.  In  other  words,  piety  and  good  works 
prevent  salvation.  The  direct  and  necessary  effect  of  this  teaching  is  to  darken 
the  moral  sense.  The  conscience  of  India  has  been  immeasurably  debased  by 
this  system  of  thought ;  and  Pantheism,  if  it  fails  entirely  as  a  religion,  fails 
even  more  conspicuously  as  a  scheme  of  morals. 

The  highest  attainment  at  which  Pantheism  aims  is  to  lead  man,  entirely 
ignorant  of  the  living  and  true  God,  Creator  and  Moral  Governor  of  the  uni- 
verse, knowing  nothing  of  the  essential  law  of  right  and  wrong  by  which  all 
sentient  beings  must  be  judged,  and  unconscious  of  his  guilt  and  moral  pollu- 
tion, to  pronounce  with  almost  inconceivable  spiritual  pride  the  words  :  "I  am 
God."  The  highest  attainment  of  the  Hindoo  pietist  is  blasphemy,  and  with 
this  blasphemy  on  his  lips  he  dies. 

This  system,  which  is  so  destructive  to  all  right  thinking  on  religious  sub- 
jects,   and   subversive    of  the  very  foundation   of  true  morality,    forms   the 


8  Christianity  and  Hindooism. 

greatest  obstacle  to  Christianity  in  India.*  It  has  no  points  in  common  with 
Christianity.  It  furnishes  no  premise  on  which  a  Christian  argument  can  be 
founded.  There  is  no  logical  refutation  of  it.  The  appeal  to  common  sense 
is  made  in  vain,  since  one  of  the  fundamental  principles  of  the  system  is  the 
entire  untrustworthiness  and  falsity  of  that  consciousness  which  underlies  our 
common  sense.  The  appeal  to  science  has  its  base  cut  from  under  it,  since 
everything  but  spirit  is  unreal  and  delusive.  The  Hindoo  mind  distrusts 
material  science,  and  looks  at  modern  European  and  American  inventions 
and  applications  of  science  as  we  look  at  the  exhibitions  of  a  skillful  juggler. 
We  are  surprised  at  nothing ;  but  we  are  also  convinced  of  nothing,  save  the 
skill  of  the  conjurer  and  the  unreliability  of  the  testimony  of  our  own  senses. 
Just  to  the  extent  to  which  this  Pantheism  influences  the  thought  of  India, 
does  Christianity  find  the  Hindoo  mind  preoccupied  with  ideas  which  pre- 
clude its  very  entrance. 

We  come  now  to  notice,  as  a  second  great  obstacle   to  the  introduction  of 
Christianity  into  India,  the   vast  and  varied  system  of  Hindoo  idolatry.     At 
first  sight,  pantheism  and  polytheism  seem  irreconcilable  and  mutually  exclusive. 
On  the  contrary,  pantheism  furnishes  the  only  logical  and  satisfactory  ground 
for  poly  theism.     If  God  is  everything,  then  everything  is  God.     The  sun,  moon, 
and  stars  not  only  represent  God ;  in  a  sense,  they  are  God,  and  worship  paid 
to  them,  is  worship  paid  to  God.     Certain  mountains,  certain  rivers,  certain 
trees  are  regarded  as  possessed  of  special  sanctity.     Every  Hindoo  artisan,  at 
certain  seasons,  worships  his  tools,  the  farmer  his  implements  of  agriculture, 
the  banker  and  the  merchant  his  account  books.    Every  natural  object  to  which 
awe  or  mystery  attaches,  serves  to   call  forth  a  recognition  of  that   Divinity 
which  is  supposed  to  embrace  all  existence  as  infinite  space  enfolds  all  magni- 
tudes within  itself.     Much  more  must  those  superhuman  existences  be   wor- 
shiped, a  belief  in  whom  seems  instinctive  in  the  mind  of  man,  as  existing  in 
rank  upon  rank  above  us  in  the  scale  of  being. 

The  intelligent  Hindoo  does  not  identify  any  one  or  all  the  three  hundred 
and  thirty  million  deities  with  the  Infinite  and  Eternal  God.     Neither  Brahma 


*  Since  the  above  was  in  type,  the  English  newspapers  report  the  well-known 
Prof.  Monier  Williams,  of  the  University  of  Oxford,  as  saying,  in  an  address  upon  "  The 
Chief  Obstacles  to  the  Spread  of  Christianity  in  India,"  delivered  at  a  recent  mission- 
ary conference:  "Our  main  difficulty  is  in  the  nature  of  their  religion,  that  subtle 
Pantheism,  which  may  profess  to  include  Christianity  itself  as  one  of  the  phenomena 
of  the  universe,  and  does  declare  itself  to  have  been  a  true  revelation,  in  a  more  ex- 
cellent way,  long  before  Europe  had  any  revealed  religion  at  all."  The  English  Inde- 
pendent, quoting  this  sentence,  and  remarking  the  surprise  with  which  it  will  be  re- 
ceived by  ordinary  Christian  men  and  women  at  home,  adds :  "  It  is  evident  that 
nothing  could  be  worse  than  to  send  out  to  India  men  who  have  no  intellectual  power 
of  appreciating  such  subtle  objections,  which  seem  to  cut  the  very  ground  from  beneath 
the  Christian  missionary's  feet." 


Christianity  and  Hindooism.  9 

nor  Vishnu  nor  Siva  is  That.  The  titles  which  properly  belong  to  The  One 
Without  a  Second  are  never  applied  to  the  greatest  of  the  gods.  Ask  the  lowest 
peasant  whether  God  is  one  or  many ;  his  invariable  answer  is,  God  is  one. 
But  this  is  not  at  all  inconsistent  with  his  belief  in  a  vast  multitude  of  greater 
and  lesser  deities,  all  less  divine  than  God,  but  more  divine  than  man.  With 
many  of  these  deities  we  have  no  direct  concern,  while  our  relation  to  others 
of  them  is  most  direct  and  important.  Practically,  these  deities  have  absorbed 
the  worship  and  service  of  all  India.  Some  men  worship  one,  others  another. 
Some  parts  of  India  are  chiefly  worshipers  of  Vishnu  under  his  many  incar- 
nations and  manifestations ;  in  other  parts  the  worship  of  Siva  predominates. 
Different  castes  and  tribes  addict  themselves  to  different  deities.  But  no  tem- 
ple is  reared  to  the  Great  Supreme  ;  no  rites  are  performed  in  His  honor ;  God 
is  an  abstract  conception,  and  not  a  living  reality.  His  glory  they  have  given 
to  them  that  are  no  gods. 

When  you  charge  upon  a  Hindoo  the  sin  and  folly  of  worshiping  these 
inferior  deities,  while  he  neglects  the  God  whom  he  himself  acknowledges  as 
the  One  Supreme,  he  tells  you  at  once  that  since  God  is  all,  all  worship  is  paid 
to  God,  perhaps  quoting  some  ancient  verse  like  the  following : 

"  Into  the  bosom  of  the  one  great  sea, 
Flow  streams  that  come  from  hills  on  every  side. 
Their  names  are  various  as  their  springs. 
And  thus  in  every  land  do  men  bow  down 
To  one  great  God,  though  known  by  many  names." 

Or,  he  will  defend  himself  by  a  plausible  illustration :  "  Sir,  I  am  a  poor 
man  from  yonder  village.  If  I  have  a  tax  to  pay  the  Government,  should  I 
insist  on  carrying  my  money  to  our  Queen  who  lives  across  the  sea ;  and  if  I 
did  so,  would  she  see  me  or  receive  it  at  my  hand  ?  No  more  can  I  take  it 
to  the  Governor-General  in  his  vice-regal  palace  in  Calcutta.  I  have  to  do  with 
the  village  officer  ;  and  what  I  pay  to  him,  although  he  is  a  very  inferior  officer 
of  the  Government,  is  as  truly  paid  to  the  Queen  as  though  I  laid  it  at  her 
feet." 

If  a  man,  who  does  not  accept  the  Bible  as  the  Word  of  God,  "believes  that 
there  are  myriads  of  existences  above  and  around  him,  who,  although  they  are 
not  God,  are  deities  to  whom  his  worship  and  service  are  due,  whose  anger 
he  has  every  reason  to  avoid  and  their  favor  to  gain,  I  do  not  know  any  logical 
process  by  which  I  can  convince  him  of  the  contrary. 

I  get  no  help  from  the  philosopher.  He  does  not  perhaps  believe  in  the 
gods  himself.  It  may  be  he  considers  himself  by  philosophical  methods  nearer 
salvation  than  they  are ;  since  the  gods  themselves  are  bound  in  the  bondage 
of  the  unreal,  or  else  they  too  would  cease  to  suffer  the  evil  of  a  separate  ex- 
istence and  merge  in  the  divine  ocean  of  the  Infinite.  But  the  very  idolatry 
and  superstition  on  which  he  personally  looks  down,  he  regards  as  necessary 


io  Christianity  and  Hindooism. 

for  the  mass  of  men.  The  common  people  can  not  attain  the  eminence  of 
philosophic  thought.  They  must  reach  after  the  deity  in  lower  methods  and 
by  lower  aids.  If  they  are  faithful  in  those  services  which  they  can  now  un- 
derstand and  render,  they  will  be  rewarded  perhaps  in  their  next  birth  by  such 
a  position  in  life  that  they  may  attain  liberation  by  the  higher  methods.  Al- 
though wonderful  stories  are  told  by  priests  and  others  of  men  in  days  past  who 
attained  immediate  salvation  by  the  practice  of  rites  that  are  still  observed,  I 
never  met  with  a  Hindoo  who  expected  that  he  could  thus  be  saved.  His 
best  hope  is  in  this  present  life  to  merit  a  future  birth  somewhat  nearer  to  the 
object  of  his  desires.  For  remember,  that  heaven  itself  is  not  liberation  or 
full  salvation.  It  is  a  state  of  much  happiness ;  but  a  man  whose  next  trans- 
migration will  be  to  that  abode  of  happiness,  may,  by  that  very  transmigration, 
postpone  indefinitely  his  hopes  of  ultimate  liberation  and  linger  in  the  misery 
of  separation  from  God. 

In  this  connection  we  may  repeat  to  you  the  Quaternion  of  Requisites,  the 
four  qualifications  which  are  necessary  before  one  may  so  much  as  enter  upon 
the  study  of  the  higher  philosophy  of  the  Hindoos  with  any  hope  of  attaining 
salvation  thereby.     These  are  : 

i.  The  discrimination  of  the  eternal  substance  from  the  transient,  i.  e.,  a 
clear  understanding  that  God  is  the  eternal  substance  and  all  else  is  non- 
eternal. 

2.  Disregard  of  the  enjoyment  of  the  fruits  of  the  here  and  the  hereafter. 
By  fruits  of  the  here  we  are  to  understand  all  good  things  of  the  present  life ; 
by  fruits  of  the  hereafter,  blessings  to  be  enjoyed  in  a  future  state,  such  as 
heaven,  or  the  rewards  due  to  meritorious  actions  done  in  this  life.  In  other 
words,  this  second  qualification  is  the  disregard  of  everything,  present  or  future, 
save  only  the  liberation  of  the  soul  from  the  bondage  of  the  unreal  and  its 
union  with  the  All-Spirit. 

3.  The  possession  of  the  six  mental  attitudes  which  befit  the  seeker  after 
liberation  ;  as  follows  : 

1  st.  Tranquillity,  the  restraining  of  the  thoughts  and  desires  from  everything 
save  God.  2d.  Self-restraint,  the  complete  mastery  of  the  body  and  its 
senses,  so  that  they  shall  not  interfere  with  the  concentration  of  the  whole 
being  upon  God.  3d.  Quiescence,  the  entire  refraining  from  all  other  duties 
save  those  involved  in  this  concentration,  as,  for  example,  duties  owing  to  a 
parent  by  the  child,  or  a  husband  to  a  wife,  or  a  servant  to  his  employer.  This 
requirement  alone  shuts  the  seeker  after  God  off  from  every  human  relation- 
ship and  absolves  him  from  every  tie  to  kindred  or  society.  4th.  Endurance, 
of  hunger  and  thirst,  cold  and  heat,  watching,  and  whatever  other  suffering  will 
be  the  means  of  subduing  the  spirit  and  mortifying  the  flesh.  5th.  Contempla- 
tion, the  fixing  the  whole  soul  in  meditation  upon  God  and  the  study  of  truth. 
6th.  Faith,  the  implicit  reception  of  the  teachings  of  the  spiritual  guide  and 
preceptor. 


Christianity  and  Hindooism.  1 1 

4.  That  overmastering  desire  for  liberation,  which  alone  can  lead  to  and 
sustain  in  this  study  and  self-denial. 

Such  are  the  qualifications  required,  at  least  in  theory,  of  him  who  would 
attain  salvation  by  means  of  philosophy.  They  will  convince  us  how  impossi- 
ble it  appears  to  the  ordinary  Hindoo  that  he  should  reach  his  goal  by  this 
lofty  path.  Nothing  is  left  for  him  but  to  avail  himself  of  the  gods  and  their 
worship,  and  get  from  them  what  help  he  can. 

Of  the  popular  idolatry  and  superstitions  of  the  Hindoos  I  need  not  speak 
at  length.  Its  main  features  are  described  in  many  books  and  are  not  un- 
familiar to  you.  Nor  could  it  be  put  into  any  systematic  form.  Every  man 
may  find,  in  the  vast  number  of  the  gods  and  their  varying  forms  of  worship, 
what  suits  him  best.  He  may  change  from  one  to  another  as  he  pleases.  No 
one  aspect  of  Hindoo  popular  religion  represents  more  than  a  single  phase  of 
it.  It  is  multiform  to  the  last  degree.  The  very  sacred  books  are  at  variance 
among  themselves.  Modern  Hindooism  is  a  thousand  religions  massed  in 
one,  with  ample  room  for  unnumbered  superstitions,  old  and  new,  all  of  which 
are  orthodox  to  all  who  accept  them  and  tolerated  by  all  the  rest.* 

Of  the  enormities  of  Hindooism  in  some  of  its  developments  I  dare  not 
speak.  No  ingenuous  Hindoo  can  refer  to  them  without  a  blush  of  shame, 
though  he  is  powerless  to  prevent  them.  But  I  must  not  fail  to  remind  you 
that  some  such  union  of  specious  pantheistic  philosophy  with  degrading  idola- 
try and  dark  superstition,  with  all  the  fearful  moral  evil  accompanying  them — 
philosophy  for  the  few,  superstition  for  the  many — would  almost  certainly  be 
the  religious  condition  of  the  Christian  world  to-day,  were  it  not  for  the  Gospel 
of  Christ.  India,  China,  and  Japan  represent  to  us  at  present  the  best  that 
man  can  do  for  himself  without  a  revelation  from  God.       The  condition  of 


*  "In  India,"  says  the  late  Rev.  J.  Wilson,  D.D.,  so  well  known  in  connection  with 
the  Scotch  missions  in  Bombay,  "we  have  to  deal  with  elaborated  systems  of  faith  and 
practice  which  are  allied,  and  intimately  allied,  with  every  principle  congenial  to  the 
natural  depravity  of  man,  and  suited  to  every  variety  of  temperament  and  condition  of 
life.  Hindooism,  though  it  has  gone  through  many  changes,  is  still  the  grandest  em- 
bodiment of  Gentile  error.  It  is  at  once  physiolatrous  in  its  main  aspects,  and  fetish 
in  its  individual  recognitions  of  particular  objects  of  power  for  good  or  evil  ;  polythe- 
istic and  pantheistic  ;  idolatrous  and  ceremonious,  yet  spiritual  ;  authoritative  and  tra- 
ditional, yet  inventive  and  accommodative.  The  lower  classes  of  society  it  leaves  in 
the  depths  of  ignorance  and  darkness,  without  making  any  attempt  to  promote  their 
elevation.  The  indolent  and  inane  succumbing  to  its  trying  climate,  it  leaves  in  un- 
disturbed repose.  To  the  curious  and  inquisitive  it  furnishes,  in  its  remarkable  schools 
of  philosophy,  systems  of  combined  physics  and  metaphysics,  at  once  empirical  and 
deductive  ;  and  which  exercise  and  yet  weaken  and  pervert  the  intellectual  faculties, 
and  that  without  any  clear  recognition  of  moral  obligation  and  duty  to  God  or  man. 
To  the  lovers  of  excitement  and  amusement,  it  furnishes  a  boundless  store  of  myths, 
fables,  and  fictions.  To  the  active  and  superstitious,  it  affords  a  never-ending  round 
of  foolish  and  frivolous  ceremonies,  which  engross  most  of  their  time  and  energies. 
To  the  rich,  wealthy,  and  powerful,  it  literally  promises  and  sells  pleasure  in  this  worlds 


12  Christianity  and  Hindooism. 

Greece  and  Rome  was  no  better ;  indeed,  at  the  time  when  Christianity  was 
making  the  conquest  of  the  Roman  Empire,  was  probably  worse  than  that  of 
India  now.  That  we  have  a  truer  philosophy,  a  higher  morality,  a  religion  that 
does  unite  the  soul  to  God  and  give  it  eternal  life  through  Jesus  Christ,  we 
owe  to  the  written  Word  of  God  entrusted  to  the  Church  of  Christ,  the  pillar 
and  ground  of  the  truth. 

In  connection  with  what  has  been  said  of  the  popular  philosophy  and  idola- 
try of  India,  I  must  not  omit  to  name  that  system  of  caste  which  guards  Hin- 
dooism on  the  social  side  from  change.  Not  only  are  there  the  four  great 
castes  with  which  all  are  familiar — the  Brahmin  caste,  the  Soldier  caste,  the 
Merchant  caste,  the  Laborer  caste.  These  are  almost  infinitesimally  divided 
and  subdivided — each  subdivision  virtually  a  caste  in  itself.*  And,  outside 
the  four  castes,  the  very  Pariahs  have  their  distinctions,  which  they  hold  with 
equal  tenacity.  Nor  is  the  distinction,  so  far  at  least  as  belongs  to  the  main 
caste  divisions,  an  arbitrary  one.  The  Brahmin  and  the  Sudra  live  side  by  side, 
like  the  trout  and  the  minnow  in  a  brook.  They  are  both  fish,  but  of  different 
species.  They  may  swim  in  the  same  water  and  eat  the  same  kind  of  food,  but 
the  minnow  can  never  by  an  possibility  become  a  trout,  nor  the  trout  a  min- 
now. No  more  could  the  Sudra  become  a  Brahmin,  or  the  Brahmin  a  Sudra. 
Hindoo  society  is  thus  in  all  relations,  except  those  of  business  and  trade,  a 
series  of  narrow  strata  laid  over  one  another  with  the  immovability  of  the  strata 
of  rock  in  a  mountain.  They  touch  at  the  surface  only  ;  and  each  caste  is  im- 
permeable by  members  of  any  other.  One  effect  of  caste  is  to  crush  out  in- 
dividuality— to  limit  the  intimate  relationships  of  life  to  a  narrow  social  circle, 
and  compel  the  individual  to  remain  forever  in  that  narrow  circle,  subordinat- 


with  the  expectancy  of  its  continuance  in  those  which  are  hoped  will  come.  Those 
who  love  to  rove,  it  sends  away  on  distant  journeys  and  pilgrimages.  Those  who  are 
morbid  and  melancholy,  it  settles  on  the  hill  of  ashes.  Those  who  are  disgusted  with 
this  world,  it  points  to  the  wilderness.  Those  who  are  tired  of  life,  it  directs  to  the 
uneral  pile,  the  idol  car,  or  the  lofty  precipice.  To  those  who  are  afraid  of  sin,  it  pre- 
scribes easy  and  frivolous  penances,  or  directs  to  the  sacred  lake  or  river,  in  which 
they  may  be  cleansed  from  all  pollution.  Those  who  need  a  Mediator,  it  commends 
to  the  Guru,  who  will  supply  all  deficiencies  and  answer  all  demands.  To  those  who 
are  afraid  of  death,  it  gives  the  hope  of  future  births,  which  may  be  either  in  a  rising 
or  a  descending  scale.  Those  who  shrink  from  the  view  of  these  repeated  births  in 
human  and  infra-human  forms,  it  directs  to  the  absorption  of  the  Vedantist,  or  the 
Nirvana,  the  totally  unconscious  existence  or  absolute  extinction  of  the  soul  of  the 
Buddhist  or  the  Jaina.  Need  we  wonder  that  Hindooism  has  had  its  millions  of 
votaries,  and  that,  with  some  conspicuous  losses,  it  has  retained  them  for  thousands  of 
years,  up  to  the  present  day?" 

*  The  census  of  the  Hindoo  State  of  Travancore  has  been  completed  within  a  few 
months — the  first  census  ever  taken  by  a  native  Indian  Government.  It  contains  the 
statistics  of  420  different  castes,  in  a  country  somewhat  less  in  size  than  the  State  of  New 
Jersey. 


Christianity  and  Hindooism.  13 

ing  the  whole  round  of  his  thought  and  action  to  the  will  of  his  caste  fellows. 
In  all  considerable  matters  no  man  thinks  of  deciding  for  himself.  He  must 
do  as  his  fellows.  He  is  born  into  a  society  from  which  he  can  escape  only  by 
ostracism  ;  and  if  ostracized,  is  thenceforth  absolutely  alone,  for  no  caste  will 
receive  him.  A  Pariah  might  perhaps  take  pity  on  a  wandering  dog,  but  the 
highest  Brahmin  ejected  from  his  caste  could  no  more  enter  the  caste  of  that 
Pariah  than  the  Pariah  could  be  admitted  to  that  of  the  Brahmin. 

This  social  tie  binds  Hindoo  society  in  chains  of  iron,  and  completes  the 
hold  which  Hindooism  has  upon  India.  Of  the  three  obstacles  to  Christianity 
which  we  have  mentioned,  pantheism  is  undoubtedly  the  central  and  chief. 
We  may  liken  caste  to  the  outworks  of  a  fort,  designed  to  keep  the  invader 
from  its  walls.  The  idolatry  and  superstition  of  the  country  would  represent 
those  walls  thus  guarded.  While  the  pantheistic  thought,  informing  the  whole 
and  giving  unity,  coherence,  and  resisting  strength  to  both  the  others,  is  the 
impregnable  citadel  within.  I  say  impregnable,  because  once  and  again  ear- 
nest and  sincere  reformers  have  arisen  within  Hindooism.  Almost  always  they 
have  discarded  caste,  and  for  the  most  part  rejected  idolatry.  But  never  yet 
has  Hindoo  reform  succeeded  in  shaking  off  the  subtle  spell  of  pantheistic 
thought,  and  consequently  idolatry  and  caste  have  gradually  regained  their 
hold  and  defeated  each  reform.  Christianity,  and  this  alone,  can  supplant 
pantheism,  intrenched,  as  it  is,  in  such  a  vast  system  of  popular  superstitions, 
and  guarded  so  closely  by  caste.  But  Christianity  has  never  yet  met  a  foe 
more  completely  defended,  more  difficult  of  successful  attack. 

It  has  been  our  endeavor  in  the  preceding  paragraphs  to  describe  the  oppo- 
sition which  Hindooism  presents  to  Christianity,  as  a  system  of  philosophic 
thought  and  a  congeries  of  popular  superstitions,  intrenched  in  characteristic 
social  institutions  peculiarly  hostile  to  change.  In  meeting  this  opposition, 
Christianity  itself  labors  under  serious  disadvantages,  which  must  be  briefly 
indicated  as  essential  to  an  adequate  idea  of  the  conflict  of  the  two  religions. 

And,  first,  it  must  be  remembered  that  our  Protestant  Christianity  was  not 
first  introduced  into  India  by  men  of  holy  and  consecrated  life.  Long  before 
missionaries  were  sent,  Christianity  was  presented  to  the  Hindoo  mind  by  the 
horde  of  traders,  soldiers,  adventurers,  who  sought  their  fortunes  in  India. 
The  armies  of  Clive  and  Hastings,  the  factors  of  the  East  India  Company,  the 
unprincipled  adventurers  who  escaped  to  the  Indies  from  scenes  of  violence  in 
Europe,  or  sought  there  a  field  of  gain,  were  poor  representatives  of  the  relig- 
ion of  Jesus  Christ.  Yet  the  first  impressions  of  Christianity  made  upon  the 
Hindoo  mind  were  made  by  them.  Except  the  Roman  Catholic  missionaries 
in  Southern  India,  and  the  effete  Syrian  Christians  of  the  Malabar  coast,  the 
only  Christians  seen  or  known  in  India  for  an  hundred  and  fifty  years  were 
these  men.  It  was  inevitable  that  Christianity  should  appear  to  the  people  of 
the  country  as  it  was  set  forth  in  their  lives,  and  that  it  ^should  be  associated 


14  Christianity  and  Hindooism. 

with  violence  and  chicanery,  rapacity  and  insolence,  drunkenness  and  passion. 
The  impression  thus  made  upon  the  people,  and  deepened  by  the  history  of 
more  than  a  century  of  aggression  and  conquest,  was  entirely  false,  but  one 
which  clung  to  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  has  not  even  yet  passed  entirely 
away.     Over  great  tracts  of  country  as  yet  but  little  affected  by  education  or 
personal  contact  with  real  Christians,   the   Christian    religion  is  regarded  as 
sanctioning  all  manner  of  evil  and  leading  to  all  kinds  of  crime.    Perhaps  two- 
thirds  of  the  Hindoo  races  still  regard  the  two  distinctive  features  of  Chris- 
tianity as  eating  beef  and  drinking  brandy.     Such  prejudices  are  deep-rooted 
and   exceedingly  hard  to  remove.     They  constitute  a  real  hinderance  to  the 
spread  of  Christianity,  on  which  lies  the  burthen  of  proving  the  popular  concep- 
tion wrong,  and  demonstrating  itself  by  living  examples  a  pure  and  holy  faith. 
Besides  this  erroneous,  but  under  the  circumstances  not  unnatural,  judgment 
of  Christianity,  it  is  quite  impossible  for  any  considerable  number  of  Chris- 
tians to  live  in  India  and  not  shock  deeply  the  prejudices  of  the  Hindoos. 
Reference  has  just  been  made  to  eating  beef.     To  the  Hindoo  mind  it  is  a 
great  sin  to  destroy  any  animal  life,  and  especially  the  life  of  that  most  sacred 
of  all  animals,  the  cow.    According  to  most  Hindoo  codes  of  law,  it  is  a  greater 
crime  to  kill  a  cow  than  to  kill  a  man.     It  would  be  possible  for  the  mission- 
ary to  accommodate  himself  to  this  prejudice,  and  abstain  from  animal  food  at 
considerable  expense  to  his  health  and  strength,  but  this  would  not  avail  while 
all  about  him  soldiers,  civilians,  planters  by  hundreds  are  pursuing  an  opposite 
course.     He  can  denounce  intemperance,  but  has  no  ground  for  denouncing 
the  use  of  beef  and  mutton.     Or  take  another  illustration  :  All  over  India  the 
very  necessary,  but  unsavory,  office  of  the  public  and  private  scavenger  is  given 
to  the  sweeper  caste,  which  is  naturally  at  the  very  bottom  of  the  social  scale. 
With  his  exaggerated  notions  of  personal  cleanliness  and  purity,  no   Hindoo 
outside  of  the  sweeper  caste  could  touch  so  much  as  the  clothes  of  one  of 
them  without  incurring  ceremonial  defilement  ;  and  to  receive  food  from  their 
hands  would  be  worse  than  death.     A  certain  mission  in  Northern  India  grew 
up  in  connection  with  an  orphanage,  in  which  were  gathered  a  large  number  of 
children  made  orphans  during  a  terrible  famine  which  desolated  the  country 
many  years  ago.     Perhaps  the  missionaries  were  not  aware  of  the  strength  of 
this  prejudice  ;  but  whatever  the  reason  may  have  been,  the  persons  whom 
they  first  employed  to  feed  these  children  were  of  the  sweeper  caste,  and  the 
impression  made  upon  the  whole  community  in  which  that  orphanage  and  mis- 
sion were  situated,  was  that  the  Christians  were  entirely  dead  to  any  sense  of 
propriety  or  decency.    Matters  like  these  are  entirely  trivial  when  viewed  from 
our  standpoint,  but  from  that   of  the  Hindoo  they  are   of  great  importance. 
Doubtless  in  many  particular  cases  such  prejudices  may  be  avoided,  but  with- 
out becoming  thorough  Hindoos  it  is  inevitable  that  we  should  be  often  shock- 
ing their  sense  of  propriety  and  enlisting  many  of  their  unreasonable  prejudices 
against  Christianity. 


Christianity  and  Hindooism.  15 

The  cause  of  Christianity  in  India  must  also  sustain  a  considerable  amount 
of  political  opprobrium  as  the  religion  of  the  government  which  has  displaced 
the  native  dynasties,  changed  the  ancient  laws  and  customs,  and  holds  the 
country  in  its  possession  by  right  of  conquest.  Not  that  the  mass  of  the  people 
of  India  hate  the  British  government,  or  actively  desire  its  overthrow.  But  an 
alien  government  can  never  be  a  popular  one.  And  although  the  impartial 
observer  will  gladly  testify  that  never  in  all  history  has  a  nation  governed  a 
vast  and  distant  dependency  so  wisely  and  well  as  India  has  been  governed  for 
the  last  half  century,  yet  it  must  be  said  that  the  people  of  the  country  do  not 
love  the  government  or  its  administrators,  and  that  if  the  British  forces  who 
garrison  its  forts  and  overawe  the  great  native  princes  were  withdrawn  from 
India,  popular  risings  would  soon  repeat  in  all  parts  of  the  country  the  scenes 
of  the  Sepoy  mutiny.  To  the  religion  of  this  alien  government  is  opposed 
whatever  of  patriotism  the  Hindoo  feels.  Hindooism  is  not  a  religion  accepted 
from  without,  but  developed  from  within.  Its  saints  and  heroes  are  national, 
its  institutions  are  identified  with  all  the  past  glory  of  the  country  and  race. 
To  give  up  these  and  accept  the  religion  and  institutions  of  the  conqueror 
seems  to  the  Hindoo  to  be  treason  to  his  native  land. 

While  Christianity  thus  suffers  a  disadvantage  from  its  being  the  religion  of 
the  present  government  of  India,  the  influence  of  that  government  is  not,  on 
the  whole,  favorable  to  the  missionary  enterprise.  The  Christian  missionary 
has,  indeed,  under  the  British  government,  the  great  advantage  of  protection 
to  life  and  property  while  engaged  in  his  work.  The  strong  arm  of  the  law 
protects  him  from  violence,  and,  to  a  certain  extent,  protects  the  native  con- 
verts ;  although  it  must  be  confessed  that  in  parts  of  India  the  law,  as  inter- 
preted by  British  judges,  is  an  engine  of  cruelty  and  injustice  as  applied  to 
converts  from  Hindooism  to  Christianity.  The  position  of  the  government 
with  reference  to  the  different  religions  is  one  of  considerable  delicacy,  and 
brings  forward  many  difficult  questions.  If  administered  always  by  wise  and 
truly  Christian  statesmen,  it  could  be  of  great  assistance  in  the  evangelization 
of  the  country.  Many  of  the  ablest  Indian  officials  have,  without  overstepping 
the  limits  of  toleration  for  all  religions,  given  their  countenance  to  all  wise 
efforts  to  bring  the  truth  to  bear  upon  the  people.  Religious  neutrality  is  one 
thing,  and  indifference  to  all  religion  is  quite  another.  And  it  is  to  be  regretted 
that  the  present  government  of  India,  while  justly  professing  to  accord  equal 
rights  to  Hindoos,  Mohammedans,  and  Christians  in  the  practice  of  their  sev- 
eral religions,  should  yet,  upon  the  whole,  throw  the  preponderance  of  its  in- 
fluence against  the  Christianization  of  the  country. 

Mission  work  is  further  complicated  by  the  division  of  India  into  so  many 
different  races,  with  distinct  languages  and  varying  race  characteristics.  India 
is  not  one  country,  but  many.  A  continent,  equal  in  geographical  extent  to 
all  Europe,  outside  of  Russia,  it  is  even  more  divided  than  Europe  into  na- 
tionalities.    The  races  of  the  north  are  as  different  from   those  of   the  South 


1 6  Christianity  and  Hindooism. 

as  the  Germans  from  the  Spanish  or  Italians.  The  Hindooism  of  Rajpoo- 
tana  is  no  more  like  that  of  Travancore  than  Greek  Christianity  is  like  Roman 
Catholicism.  The  languages  of  North  India  are  cognate.  So  are  those  of 
South  India.  But  they  constitute  two  distinct  classes  of  language  ;  and  the 
various  languages  of  the  aboriginal  races  of  Central  India  are  formed  upon  a 
conception  totally  distinct  from  that  of  either  of  the  other  classes.  No  man 
can  be  a  missionary  to  India  at  large,  but  only  to  that  part  of  India  to  which 
he  may  be  sent.  Languages  learned  in  one  part  of  India  are  useless  in  others. 
Methods  of  missionary  labors  useful  in  one  district  may  not  prove  so  in  others. 
Instead  of  one  translation  of  the  Word  of  God,  at  least  fifteen  or  twenty  must 
be  made  and  printed.*  So  of  the  entire  series  of  books  and  tracts,  controversial, 
and  explanatory  of  the  Christian  religion,  and  the  text-books  used  in  all  ver- 
nacular education.  That  is  to  say,  in  the  one  department  of  literary  work,  in- 
cluding the  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  many  times  the  effort  is  required  for 
India  which  would  be  necessary  if  one  language  were  used. 

It  follows  partly  from  this  diversity  of  race,  language,  and  circumstance  in 
India,  and  partly  from  the  divisions  of  Christians  themselves  in  their  different 
nationalities  and  denominations,  that  there  has  been  less  of  unity  in  missionary 
effort  than  is  necessary  to  secure  the  highest  results.  Not  that  different  denom- 
inations have  interfered  with  or  worked  against  each  other.  In  spite  of 
occasional  clashing,  we  may  say  that  in  general  the  different  missions  have 
worked  together  in  harmony  and  with  Christian  co-operation.  But  these 
Christian  workers,  all  too  few,  some  British,  others  German,  others  American, 
some  representing  the  Lutheran  doctrine  and  polity,  others  belonging  to  the 
Church  of  England  with  its  liturgy  and  Episcopal  government ;  others  Scotch, 
Irish,  or  American  Presbyterians,  and  still  others  English  Baptists  or  American 
Methodists,  all  earnest  in  their  own  peculiar  beliefs  and  methods  of  working, 
are  necessarily  much  separated  from  one  another  and  lose  the  advantages 
which  arise  from  unity  of  organization.    The  missionary  body  is  said  at  present 


*A  recent  pamphlet,  entitled  "  Rome's  Relation  to  the  Bible,"  issued  by  the  Calcutta 
Bible  Society,  contains  a  Historical  Table  of  Translations  of  the  Scriptures  by  Protestants 
for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants  of  India.  In  this  table,  which  does  not  profess  to  be  exhaust- 
ive, a  list  is  given  of  versions  of  the  Scriptures,  either  in  whole  or  part,  made  into  no 
less  than  sixty-three  different  languages  and  dialects.  In  eighteen  of  these  languages 
the  entire  Bible  has  been  translated  and  published.  In  twenty-six  more  the  entire  New 
Testament  and  parts  of  the  Old  Testament  have  been  issued.  In  the  remaining  languages 
portions  of  the  New  Testament,  and  occasionally  of  the  Old  Testament,  have  appeared, 
but  neither  Testament  complete.  Some  of  the  sixty-three  languages  have  been  reduced 
to  writing  by  the  mi&sionaries.  In  several  of  them  the  translations  of  the  Scriptures 
have  been  carefully  revised  again  and  again.  The  whole  represents  an  amount  of  labor 
on  the  part  of  Indian  missionaries,  of  which,  perhaps,  few  of  the  warmest  friends  of 
missions  are  aware. 

It  may  be  added  that  Romish  versions  of  the  Scriptures  in  the  field  covered  by  these 
Protestant  versions,  are  oniy  two,  viz. :  the  New  Testament,  in  Hindustani,  Patna, 
1864  ;  and  The  Four  Gospels  and  Acts  in  Tamil,  Pondicherry,  1857. 


Christianity  and  Hindooisni*  17 

to  number  about  six  hundred  men.  Of  these  one-sixth  are  probably  always 
absent  on  furlough  or  laid  aside  by  ill-health,  leaving  five  hundred  in  active 
service.  This  number  of  missionaries  scattered  up  and  down  over  a  region  of 
country  as  large  as  all  Europe  outside  of  Russia,  holding  in  any  considerable 
force  only  a  few  great  cities,  separated  from  each  other  not  only  by  geograph- 
ical distance,  but  also  by  the  difference  of  race  and  language  between  those 
among  whom  they  labor,  each  particular  mission  acting  only  on  its  own  plan, 
and  method,  without  reference  to  other  missions  near  or  far,  are  certainly 
working  at  a  disadvantage  as  compared  with  the  same  number  of  men  under: 
one  general  supervision,  carrying  out  one  set  of  ideas  and  each  supporting  the 
other  in  all  details  of  their  work. 

Such  is  the  opposition  of  Hindooism  to  Christianity,  and  such  some  of  the 
disadvantages  under  which  the  missionary  enterprise  must  be  carried  on  in 
India.      At   the   beginning  of  the  present  century  Protestant  missions  had 
scarcely  established  a  foothold,  and  were  still  prohibited  in  the  dominions 
under  control  of  the  East  India  Company.     Twenty-five  years  later  all  India 
was  open  for  missionary  efforts,  and  the  churches  of  Europe  and  America  were 
beginning  to  enter  it  in  force.     Each  following  decade  has  seen  new  ground 
occupied,  new  missions  opened.     The  ten  years  between  1835  and  1845  saw 
our  Presbyterian  missions  established,  although  our  missionary  stations  were 
much  fewer  then  than  now.     The  Sepoy  mutiny  in  1857  marks  an  era  in  In- 
dian history.     The  attention  of  the  Christian  world  was  fixed  upon  India  with 
special  interest.     Old  missions  were  strengthened,  and  important  new  ones 
begun.     Upon  the  whole  it  may  be  said  that  a  half  century  of  Christian  effort 
has  been  expended  upon  India,  during  which  from  a  hundred  and  fifty  to  five 
or  six  hundred  missionaries  have  been  working  there,  assisted  by  many  earnest 
Christian  men  in  the  civil  and  military  service  of  the  British  government,  and 
by  many  native  Christians  whom  God  has  raised  up  as  teachers  and  preachers 
from  among  the  converts  of  the  missions. 

Let  us  see  what  results  have  been  accomplished  by  these  agencies.     Over 
two-thirds  of  India  there  stretches  a  network  of  mission  stations,  occupying  all 
the  prominent  cities  and  many  of  the   larger  towns.     The  remaining   third, 
which  is  partly  difficult  of  access  and  partly  territory  under  the  dominion  of 
native  princes  who  are  not  favorable  to  the  introduction  of  Christianity,  has 
scarcely  been  touched,  although  within  the  last  few  years  several  very  promis- 
ing new  stations  have  been  taken  up  by  our  own  and  other  missionary  organ- 
izations.   But  go  where  you  will,  along  any  of  the  great  lines  of  travel  through- 
out India,  you  will  find  in  every  place  of  importance  the  mission  station,  a 
center  of  light  and  evangelization,  where  the  church  and  the  school,  if  not  also 
the  printing-press,  the  hospital,  the  orphanage,  mark  the  beneficent  enterprises 
of  Christianity,  and  Christian  men  and  women  are  devoting  themselves  in  every 
way  to  promote  the  welfare  of  the  people. 


1 8  Christianity  and  Hindooism. 

In  these  great  centers  of  influence,  the  Gospel  has  been  faithfully  preached 
and  taught  in  the  schools,  until  a  large  number  of  people  are  familiar  with  the 
outlines  of  saving  truth.  And  from  these  centers  the  missionary  and  his  na- 
tive helpers  have  gone  over  wider  and  wider  circles  proclaiming  their  heavenly 
message  to  multitudes  of  hearers.  Much  of  this  preaching  is  necessarily  frag- 
mentary and  imperfect,  but  it  awakens  attention,  removes  prejudice,  and  pre- 
pares the  way  for  further  instruction. 

In  all  the  principal  languages  of  the  country  the  Word  of  God  has  been 
translated  and  widely  circulated,  with  many  other  books  and  tracts,  suited  to 
different  ages  and  classes  of  readers.  Formerly  these  were  given  away  to  all 
who  could  be  induced  to  receive  them.  But  of  late  years  the  demand  has  so 
Sncreased  that  it  is  now  almost  the  universal  practice  to  sell  our  Christian  pub- 
lications. The  missionary  and  his  assistants  sell  them  in  the  streets  and  at  the 
religious  and  other  gatherings  of  the  people ;  the  colporteurs  sell  them  in  the 
railway  stations  and  from  village  to  village ;  and  in  some  parts  of  India  the 
very  Hindoo  and  Mohammedan  booksellers  have  begun  to  keep  them  in  their 
stock,  merely  for  the  profit  which  they  can  make  by  selling  them. 

Missionary  schools  in  India,  from  the  village  school  where  only  the  simpler 
branches  are  taught  in  the  vernacular,  to  the  English  high-schools  and  col- 
leges in  the  great  cities,  have  played  a  most  important  part  and  are  still  very 
prominent  in  the  educational  work  which  has  done  so  much  to  awaken  thought 
and  stimulate  progress  in  that  country.  In  all  these  schools  and  colleges  the 
great  aim  has  been  to  communicate  religious  instruction.  And,  apart  from  the 
number  of  actual  conversions,  it  is  impossible  to  estimate  the  influence  which 
they  have  exerted  upon  the  educated  classes  of  Hindoo  society.  Among  all 
•who  have  come  under  these  influences  the  power  of  Hindooism  is  greatly 
weakened,  and  many  persons  have  been  deeply  impressed  by  Christian  truth 
•who  have  not  been  able  to  make  the  sacrifice  involved  in  its  public  acceptance. 

The  number  of  persons  gathered  together  in  Christian  churches  as  the  direct 
fruits  of  Protestant  missions  in  India  is  now  upwards  of  300,000,  without  count- 
ing those  who  have  fallen  asleep.  It  would  be  too  much  to  claim  all  of  these 
as  truly  godly,  Christ-like  men.  But  in  general  the  native  Christian  com- 
munity is  fully  deserving  of  our  confidence.  It  has  been  tried  by  persecution, 
and  has  added  Hindoo  names  to  the  roll  of  the  Christian  martyrs.  It  has 
yielded  a  large  proportion  of  its  members  to  the  service  of  Christ  in  earnest 
and  faithful  ministry  among  their  fellow-countrymen.  It  is  becoming  more 
awd  more,  not  only  self-supporting,  but  aggressive.  The  example  of  many  of 
these  native  brethren  is  doing  more  to  convince  and  attract  the  heathen  among 
whom  they  live  than  any  mere  preaching  could  do.  The  Christian  community, 
as  a  whole,  is  steadily  rising  in  the  popular  esteem  ;  and,  scattered  as  it  is 
among  so  many  provinces  of  India,  it  forms  the  nucleus  everywhere  of  the 
greater  ingatherings  for  which  we  labor  and  hope. 
^   xGseat  attention  is  being  paid  in  all  parts  of  India  to  the  perfecting  of  those 


Christianity  and  Hindooism.  19 

ecclesiastical  organizations  by  which  the  power  of  the  Christian  community 
shall  be  brought  to  bear  most  efficiently  upon  the  mass  of  heathenism  about  it, 
and  upon  the  training  of  those  pastors  and  evangelists  who  shall  instruct  the 
churches  and  carry  the  Gospel  in  their  preaching  and  teaching  far  beyond  the 
limits  which  can  be  reached  by  the  foreign  missionary.  The  successes  of  the 
future  will  largely  depend  upon  the  native  ministry ;  and  God  is  giving  to  His 
churches  men  who  are  qualified  by  gifts  of  nature  and  of  grace  to  assume  the 
great  responsibilities  thus  laid  upon  them. 

In  all  these  respects,  missionaries  are  able  to  report  satisfactory  and  gratify- 
ing progress,  and  this  not  in  certain  specially  favored  localities,  but  in  all 
parts  of  the  wide  field,  not  in  a  single  department,  but  in  all  departments  of 
missionary  effort.  This  progress  is  uniform  and  steady.  Whatever  of  gain  is 
made  is  retained,  and  each  fresh  advance  furnishes  vantage  ground  for  further 
success.  There  are  probably  no  five  hundred  Christian  ministers  in  any  part 
of  the  world  upon  whom  greater  responsibilities  are  laid,  and  none  who  are 
accomplishing  more  for  the  upbuilding  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  than  the  men 
who  are  honored  in  holding  the  position  of  missionaries  in  India. 

But  let  us  not  receive  the  impression  that  India  will  probably  be  soon  con- 
verted to  the  faith  of  Christ.  Three  hundred  million  souls,  held  for  ages  under 
the  triple  bondage  of  pantheism,  idolatry,  and  caste,  and  loving  and  glorying 
in  that  bondage,  are  not  to  be  easily  delivered  from  it,  though  the  number  of 
Christian  workers  were  multiplied  an  hundred-fold.  All  things  are  possible 
with  God ;  and  if  it  please  Him  to  pour  out  His  Spirit  upon  the  whole  nation 
and  raise  up  in  all  its  races  and  languages  men  of  Apostolic  gifts  and  fervor, 
we  may  see  in  a  few  years  glorious  triumphs  of  the  Gospel  on  a  greater  scale 
than  ever  before  in  human  history.  But  that  is  not  the  way  in  which  God 
usually  works,  nor  do  we  see  signs  of  any  such  unusual  successes  in  India. 
We  see  nowhere  any  general  weakening  of  Hindoo  thought  or  superstition, 
any  wide-spread  turning  toward  Christianity,  upon  the  part  of  the  mass  of  the 
people.  Christianity  must  win  its  success  in  India  by  earnest,  persevering 
work,  and  by  steady  toil  undermine  the  almost  impregnable  defenses  of  Hin- 
dooism. Your  missionaries  do  not  shrink  from  the  task  given  them  to  do,  and 
are  not  disheartened  by  the  difficulties  which  face  them.  The  work  advances. 
The  end  is  secured  by  the  promise  of  God.  Let  the  whole  Church  of  Christ 
not  withhold  their  sympathies  and  prayers. 


CHRISTIANITY  AND  HINDOOISM. 

Rev.  James  Wilson,  for  many  years  connected  with  our  mission  in  India, 
sends  the  following  communication  in  reply  to  a  quotation  in  Mr.  Wynkoop's 
first  article  on  Christianity  and  Hindooism.  As  it  gives  another  view  of  the 
subject  so  strongly  presented  by  Mr.  Wynkoop,  our  readers  will  be  glad  to  see 


20  Christianity  and  Hindooism. 

it,  and  especially  as  it  comes  from  one  of  the  early  missionaries  of  our  Church 
to  India : 

I  have  just  been  reading  the  part  of  Rev.  T.  S.  Wynkoop's  lecture  on 
"  Christianity  and  Hindooism  "  in  the  number  of  the  Foreign  Missionary  for 
July,  and  the  note  respecting  the  address  of  Prof.  Williams,  of  Oxford,  on  the 
same  subject,  and  noticing  the  impression  which  it  seem£  to  have  made  on  the 
mind  of  the  editor  of  the  English  Independent,  who  says:  "It  is  evident  that 
nothing  could  be  worse  than  to  send  out  to  India  men  who  have  no  intellec- 
tual power  of  appreciating  such  subtle  objections  which  seem  to  cut  the  very 
ground  from  underneath  the  Christian  missionary's  feet." 

I  have  no  doubt  but  many  of  the  readers  of  those  addresses,  in  this  country 
also,  will  take  up  the  same  impression,  unless  the  authors,  or  some  one  else  for 
them,  shall  guard  them  against  such  impression  by  reminding  them  of  the 
Saviour's  words,  "  Ye  do  err,  not  knowing  the  Scriptures,  nor  the  power  of  God." 
There  is  a  broad  substratum  of  clear,  strong  common  sense  among  the  more 
intelligent  of  the  common  people  in  India,  whose  minds  soar,  not  to  the  hazy 
regions  of  their  philosophy,  and  who  can,  after  a  while,  perceive  the  keen  edge 
with  which  the  Bible  cuts  away  the  gossamer  threads  of  such  philosophy.  I 
have  often  heard  men  of  that  class,  after  they  had  had  the  Bible  in  their  hands 
for  some  time,  still  making  no  profession  of  intention  to  become  Christians, 
address  me  thus  :  "  Sir,  this  Christian  book  of  yours  is  the  strangest  book  I  ever 
saw.  It  just  speaks  right  home  to  all  that  is  inside  of  a  man,  as  if  it  knew  all 
that  is  in  him."  And  much  more  in  the  same  strain.  Doubtless  it  is  of  great 
importance  to  the  missionary  work  that  there  should  be  a  few  men  here  and 
there  among  them  like  Mr.  Wynkoop  and  Prof.  Williams,  who  should  prepare 
themselves  to  follow  the  learned  Brahmins  through  all  the  mazes  and  plausi- 
bilities and  intricate  windings  of  their  systems  of  philosophy,  in  which  they 
have  the  wide  fields  of  the  universe  to  range  at  pleasure  without  any  fixed  prin- 
ciple or  standard  by  which  their  wildest  vagaries  can  be  tested  or  brought  to 
any  positive  bearings.  But  that  is  not  the  field  in  which  the  great  mass  of  the 
missionary  work  is  to  be  done.  The  missionary  work  is  mainly  to  be  carried 
forward  by  men  of  sincere,  earnest,  tried  piety,  well-furnished  minds,  sound 
common  sense,  and  good  capacities  to  estimate  human  character,  and  the 
fitness  of  things  in  general. 

Not  much  is  to  be  gained  by  any  man's  allowing  himself  to  be  led  out  by 
a  learned  Brahmin  into  the  wide  and  wild  fields  of  heathen  philosophy.  I, 
when  I  had  been  a  few  years  in  India,  made  a  few  experiments  in  that  line. 
But  I  soon  discovered  that  it  was  very  much  like  an  effort  to  surround  and 
corner  a  wild  and  wayward  mule  in  the  center  of  a  prairie  field  50  miles  in 
diameter.  I  could  not  approach  him  from  any  quarter  but  from  which  he 
could  escape  in  any  one  of  many  directions.  I  soon  learned  that  that  was  not 
the  place  in  which  to  pen  a  wild  and  wayward  mule,  nor  an  astute  and  trained 
Brahmin.     After  a  few  fruitless  efforts  in  that  direction,  I  learned  to   permit 


Christianity  and  Hindooism.  21 

the  Pundit  (learned  Brahmin)  to  make  his  statement  without  interruption  in 
terms  like  these  :  "God  exists  in  every  form  of  animated  being,  and  in  every- 
thing. God  is  in  you,  in  me,  in  him,  in  this  table,  this  chair,  this  stone,  in 
everything  around  us.  God  enables  me  to  lift  my  hand,  to  move  my  lips,  to 
use  my  voice.  Then  if  there  was  sin  or  wrong  in  that  fraud,  or  falsehood, 
which  you  charged  upon  me  (alluding  to  some  charge  of  the  kind  just  made),  the 
blame  does  not  rest  on  me,  but  on  Him  above  who  lives,  and  thinks,  and  speaks, 
and  acts  in  me,"  etc.  I  then  would  kindly,  but  very  earnestly,  reply  :  "  I  have 
neither  time  nor  taste  for  following  you  through  all  the  mazes  of  your  philo- 
sophical speculations,  etc.  I  will  take  my  position  just  here  :  your  own  heart 
knows  that  it  was  not  God,  but  your  own  self,  that  did  the  wrong  in  question, 
and  that  the  whole  blame  rests  on  you  alone."  In  many  cases  the  man  would 
frankly  admit  the  truth  of  the  charge,  or,  if  he  did  not,  some  of  those  present 
would  say,  "  Oh,  yes,  he  knows  very  well  that  that  is  true  ;  but  he  does  not  like 
to  own  it."  Thus  God  has  provided  a  much  shorter  and  surer  way  to  the  human 
heart  than  through  the  labyrinths  of  philosophy  and  metaphysics.  And  the 
great  mass  of  missionary  labors  lie  in  that  field. 

The  same  principle  applies  to  the  missionary  work  as  to  that  of  the  minis- 
try at  home.  It  would  not  be  a  wise  policy  to  refuse  to  introduce  any  one  into 
the  office  of  the  ministry  who  had  not  so  waded  through  the  profound  depths 
of  "  science"  as  to  be  able  to  cope  with  Tyndal  and  Darwin,  and  such  as  they, 
in  their  own  chosen  fields  of  speculation,  simply  because  the  principal  portion 
of  their  labors  lies  in  a  different  direction  ;  namely,  in  dealing  with  the  "  con- 
sciences" and  conduct  of  men  as  "sinners,"  conscious  that  they  are  sinners, 
and  in  unfolding  and  applying  the  teachings  of  the  Bible  to  their  felt  necessities, 
and  as  that  which  alone  can  point  them  to  deliverance  from  sin  and  conduct 
them  to  the  inheritance  of  "  eternal  life  "  in  a  happier  and  a  better  world. 
And  all  that  pertains  to  the  attainment  of  that  inheritance  lies  along  the  lower 
plane  of  ordinary  common  sense,  and  of  candor,  and  honesty  of  purpose,  in 
applying  the  plain  ordinary  teachings  of  the  Bible  to  the  ordinary  condition 
and  wants  of  human  life. 

The  great  doctrines  of  the  Bible,  and  of  human  salvation,  are  not  to  be 
sought  for  in  the  recondite  speculations  of  science.  "  It  is  not  in  heaven  that 
thou  shouldst  say,  who  shall  go  up  and  bring  it  unto  us,  that  we  may  hear  it 
and  do  it  ?  But  the  word  is  very  nigh  thee,  in  thy  mouth,  and  in  thy  heart, 
that  thou  mayest  do  it"  (Deut.  xxx.  12). 

There  is  a  broad  field  of  common  sense  among  the  masses  of  the  people, 
both  in  Christian  and  in  heathen  countries.  And  that  common  sense,  in  con- 
nection with  the  consciousness  that  they  are  sinners  which  all  men  bear  about 
with  them,  is  the  element  with  which  the  missionary  abroad,  and  the  minister 
at  home,  have  chiefly  to  deal  in  the  important  field  of  their  labors. 

In  a  large  amount  of  varied  converse  which  I  had  with  nearly  every  class 
of  Hindoos  during  the  years  which  I  spent  in  India,  I  never  found  a  man  so 


22  Christianity  and  Hindooisni. 

utterly  debased  in  mind  but  that  I  could  lead  him  to  see  and  feel  that  there 
is  a  difference  between  right  and  wrong,  between  truth  and  falsehood,  between 
virtue  and  vice,  and  to  feel  and  acknowledge  that  he  was  a  sinner,  i.e.,  that 
he  had  sinned  against  a  superior  being  (by  whatever  name  he  might  call  that 
superior  being),  and  that  something  must  be  done  to  propitiate  that  superior 
being.  And  here  is  the  point  at  which  we  can  begin  our  missionary  work 
among  the  heathen.  And  if  I  have  not  mistaken  the  case,  it  is  about  at  the 
same  point  that  the  same  work  has  to  be  commenced  at  home. 

Then  the  conversation  turns  on  what  is  the  character  of  that  superior  be- 
ing ;  and  what  kind  of  services  or  offerings  will  propitiate  him  ;  and  what 
sort  of  character  and  habits  must  be  cultivated  in  those  who  aspire  to  please 
him  and  enjoy  his  favor.  Here  is  the  field  in  which  the  labors  of  the  mission- 
ary abroad,  and  of  the  minister  at  home,  have  their  principal  range,  and  in 
which  their  principal  fruits  are  gathered.  For,  as  a  general  thing,  those  who 
feel  themselves  intellectually  or  pecuniarily  raised  far  above  the  masses  found  on 
this  broad  plain,  are  rarely  disposed  to  give  much  attention  to  the  concerns  of  a 
future  or  higher  life — at  least  until  they  have  run  the  pleasures  of  this  present  life 
to  the  very  utmost  verge.  It  is  not,  therefore,  of  any  great  importance,  in  ar- 
ranging efforts  for  the  salvation  of  men,  to  adopt  plans  to  suit  the  case  of  these 
elevated  classes  ;  for,  if  God  is  pleased  to  reveal  Himself  in  their  hearts, 
He  brings  down  their  lofty  notions  of  themselves  to  the  low  level  from  which  the 
masses  of  mankind  can  look  up  to  the  "Author  of  their  salvation  "  suspended 
on  a  cross. 


I  1ST  D  I  A^ 

/ 

BY  REV.  JOHN  NEWTON. 


The  object  of  this  paper  is  to  present  a  bird's-eye  view  of  one  of  the 
oldest  and  largest  missions  of  the  Board.  It  is  intended  for  a  class  of 
readers  whose  acquaintance  with  the  mission  has  been  derived  mainly  from 
occasional  and  fragmentary  notices.  That  its  position  may  be  the  better 
seen,  a  few  introductory  statements  will  be  made  in  regard  to 

India  in  General. 

India,  not  including  Burmah  and  Ceylon,  is  a  large  peninsula,  (as  will  be 
seen  by  tracing  the  Indus  and  Brahmputra  to  their  sources,)  which,  in  its 
greatest  extent,  is  about  1800  miles  from  north  to  south,  and  1,500  from 
east  to  west.  It  contains  a  great  variety  of  climate,  and  is  inhabited  by 
several  distinct  nations. 

Divisions,  etc. 

It  is  divided,  generally,  into  North  India  and  the  Dakkhin,  (often  writ- 
ten Deccan,)  that  is,  The  South.     The  political  divisions  are : 

1.  The  Bengal  Presidency,  which  is  subdivided  into :  i.  Bengal,  ii.  The 
North-west  Provinces.  iii.  The  Panjab  (Punjab).  iv.  Oude.  v.  The 
Central  Provinces,  and  vi.  Assam. 

2.  The  Madras  Presidency,  and 

3.  The  Bombay  Presidency  ;  to  which  Sind  is  attached. 

Jurisdiction. 

Of  the  population,  reckoned  at  200,000,000,  about  150,000,000  are  direct- 
ly amenable  to  English  law.  The  remainder  are  under  native  princes,  who, 
though  in  the  main  independent,  yet  acknowledge  the  general  supremacy 
of  the  British  Queen.  India,  as  a  whole,  therefore,  may  be  regarded  as  a 
part  of  the  British  Empire. 

Languages. 
The  people  of  India  speak  different  languages  and  dialects,  of  which  there 


are  two  <rreat  families, — one  in  the  South,  the  other  in  the  North.  Belong- 
ing  to  the  Southern  family,  are  Tamil,  Tehigu,  Canarese,  etc.  Belonging 
to  the  Northern  family,  are  Bengali,  Hindi,  Mahratta,  Ooriya,  Panjabi,  Kash- 


MAP  OF 

INDIA 


10 


85  Longitude  !CMt 


miri,  etc.  The  Urdu  (Oordoo)  language,  otherwise  called  Hindustani 
(Hindoostanee),  compounded  of  Hindi  and  Sungskrit,  on  the  one  hand, 
and  Persian  and  Arabic,  on  the  other,  is  spoken  more  or  less  all  over  India, 


though  chiefly  in  the  North.     The  languages  of  the  Aborigines,  living  in 
the  mountains,  differ  from  all  these. 

Religions. 

The  most  common  religion,  North  and  South,  is  Hindooism ;  but  thir- 
ty millions  of  the  people  are  Mohammedans.  The  aborigines  are  rude 
idolaters,  differing  from  the  Hindoos ;  though  in  some  places  they  have 
been  partially  Hindooized. 

Missionary  Work. 

Thus  it  is  evident  that  the  missionary  work  to  be  done  is  vast.  It  has 
been  undertaken  by  many  societies — English,  Scotch,  Irish,  American,  and 
German.  The  agents  of  these  societies  are  interspersed  more  or  less 
throughout  India ;  but  the  work  began  in  the  South,  and  the  largest  propor- 
tion of  missionaries  is  there.  It  is  in  that  region,  including  Bombay,  that 
the  missionaries  of  the  American  Board  are  laboring.  The  American 
Methodists  are  in  Oude ;  the  United  Presbyterians  (of  America)  are  in 
the  Panjab ;  the  Presbyterian  Board  has  two  Missions,  called  the  Fur- 
rukhabad  and  the  Lodiana  Missions.  These  are  in  the  North-west  Provinces 
and  the  Panjab. 


SKETCH   OF   THE  LODIANA  MISSION. 

Its  Locality. 

The  Lodiana  Mission  is  so  called  from  the  city  of  Lodiana,  where  the 
Work  of  the  Board  w&s  commenced  by  Rev.  J.  C.  Lowrie,  in  1834.  The 
several  stations  of  the  mission  are  comprised  in  a  belt  of  territory,  running 
from  north-west  to  south-east,  close  to  the  Himalaya  mountains,  (and  at 
two  or  three  places  entering  the  mountains,)  about  500  miles  long,  and  in 
the  main  some  fifty  or  sixty  miles  wide. 

Stations. 

The  Mission  now  embraces  nine  principal  and  seven  subordinate  stations. 
The  principal  stations  (beginning  in  the  north-west,)  are  Rawal  Pindi  (Ra- 
wal  Pindee),  Lahore,*,  Jalandhar*  (Jullund'hur),  Lodiana*  (Loodianna), 
Sabathu  (Subatt'hoo),  Ambala*  (Umballah) — these  six,  under  the  Panjab 
government;  Saharanpur*  (Suharunpoor),  Dehra  (Deyrah),  and  Rurki 
(Roorkee) — these  three,  in  the  North-west  Provinces.  The  subordinate  sta- 
tions are  Hoshyarpur,  Firozpur  (Ferozepoor),  Jagrawan  (Jugrawun),  Am- 
bala Cantonments,*  Shahabad— -in  the  Panjab  ;  and  Raj  pur  and  Muzaffar- 
naggar*  (Moozuffernugger)— in  the  North-west  Provinces. 

*  These  stations  have  railway  communication  with  each  other,  with  the  Furrukhabad 
Mission,  and  with  the  ports  of  Calcutta  and  Bombay. 


Missionary  Agents. 

The  missionaries  at  the  sub  stations  are  all  natives.  Those  at  the  principal 
stations  are  both  natives  and  foreigners. 

One  of  the  foreigners  is  an  itinerant  missionary,  having  no  proper  station, 

though  he  has  a  Christian  colony  under  his  care,  at  a  place  called  Santokh 

Majira. 

Ordained  Foreign  Missionaries. 

The  number  of  ordained  foreign  missionaries  attached  to  the  Lodiana 
Mission,  is  eighteen;  viz.:  at  Rawal  Pindi,  R  Thackwell;  at  Lahore,  J. 
Newton,  C.  W.  Forman,  C.  B.  Newton,  and  F.  J.  Newton  ;  at  Lodiana,  A. 
Rudolph,  G.  S.  Bergen,  E.  M.  Wherry;  at  Sabathu,  J.  Newton,  Jr.,  M.  D.  ; 
at  Ambala,  J.  H.  Morrison,  and  W.  J.  P.  Morrison;  at  Saharanpur,  W. 
Caldenvood  (absent),  and  A.  P.  Kelso  ;  at  Dehra,  J.  S.  Woodside  and  D. 
Herron ;  at  Rurki,  J.  Caldwell  ;  and  the  Permanent  Itinerant.  M.  M. 
Carleton.  At  Ambala  there  is  an  unordained  European  assistant.  W.  C. 
Bailey ;  and  another  at  Saharanpur — J.  Ferguson.  These  are  both  en- 
gaged in  educational  work. 

Ordained  Native  Missionaries  and  Pastor*. 
There  are  eight  ordained  natives ;  viz.,  at  Rawal  Pindi,  J.  C.  Bose  ;  at 
Jalandhar,  Goloknath  ;  at  Hoshyarpur,  K.  C.  Chatterjee  ;  at  Ferozpur,  Isa 
Charan  (Esa  Churren) ;  at  the  Ambala  Cantonments,  William  Basten;  at 
Saharanpur,  T.  W.  J.  Wylie  ;  at  Dhera,  G.  McMaster  ;  at  Muzaffarnaggar, 
Kanwar  Sain  (Kuwver  Syne).  In  addition  to  these,  there  is  a  native  Li- 
centiate, J.  N.  McLeod,  associated  with  the  Missionary  at  Rurki.  The 
sub-stations  of  Jagrawan,  Shahabad,  and  Raj  pur,  are  occupied  by  unor- 
dained native  brethren. 

Female  Missionaries. 

Besides  the  wives  of  missionaries,  some  of  whom  have  always  been  diligent 
workers,  according  to  their  opportunities,  there  are  now  eight  missionary 
ladies  holding  appointments  from  the  Board.  Three  of  these  are  widows 
of  missionaries  who  were  once  on  the  staff  of  the  mission,  and  the  others 
are  daughters  of  missionaries.  Of  these,  Mrs.  Janvier  is  at  Sabathu;  Mrs. 
Myers,  at  Lodiana;  Mrs.  Campbell,  Miss  Woodside,  Miss  S.  Morrison, 
Miss  M.  Craig  and  Miss  J.  Nelson  are  at  Dehra;  and  Mis<  H.  .Morrison, 
at  Ambala. 

Unconnected  with  our  Board,  but  working  in  conjunction  with  the  mis- 
sion, under  German  and  English  Ladies'  Societies,  are  Miss  Jerroni  and 
Miss  Andrews,  at  Lodiana;  Miss  Fuller  and  Miss  Thiede,  at  Lahore;  and 
Miss  Goloknath  (daughter  of  the  missionary),  at  Jalandhar. 

Hie  Principal  Religious  Classes, 

The  people  of  the  Pan  jab,  and  of  the  part  of  the  North-west  Provinces 
taken  in  by  the  Lodiana  Mission,   number   about   20,000,000.     Of  these, 


nearly  one  half  are  Mohammedans.     The  remainder,  with  few  exceptions, 
are  Hindoos,  Sikhs,  and  Mihtars. 

By  Hindoos  we  commonly  mean  Brahminists,  or  believers  in  the  Veds 
and  Shasters,  and  members  of  one  or  other  of  the  four  great  castes.  Hin- 
dooism  in  general  is  an  elaborate  system  of  idolatry ;  yet  Hindoos  are  not 
all  idolaters.  Their  religious  opinions  and  practices  admit  of  the  widest 
divergence, — so  wide  that  a  man  may  despise  the  brahmans,  (the  priestly 
caste,)  and  say  what  lie  pleases  of  the  sacred  books,  and  still  be  a  Hindoo, — 
provided  only  that  he  violates  no  rule  of  caste  in  matters  of  a  social  nature. 

The  Sikhs,  to  whom,  as  a  political  power,  the  Panjab,  prior  to  its  annex- 
ation by  the  British,  had  for  many  years  been  subject,  though  they  probably 
number  not  more  than  1,000,000,  are  really  Reformed  Hindoos.  Though 
they  have  sacred  books  and  prophets  of  their  own,  yet  they  believe  in 
the  Veds  and  Shasters  ;  and  for  religious  ceremonies  connected  with  births, 
marriages,  funerals,  etc.,  they  look  to  the  Brahmans.  For  the  most  part, 
indeed,  they  speak  of  themselves  as  Hindoos;  though  some  disdain  to  be 
so  called — considering  their  own  religion  much  superior  to  what  commonly 
passes  for  Hindooism, 

Most  of  the  Mohammedans  of  India  are  converts  from  the  Hindoo  faith, 
and  so  much  are  they  influenced  by  the  prevalent  customs  of  the  country, 
that  they  are  almost  as  tenacious  of  caste  as  their  neighbors;  though  their 
caste  is  not  ackowledged  by  the  Hindoos  themselves.  In  zeal  for  Islam, 
however,  they  come  little  short  of  their  co-religionists  elsewhere. 

The  Mihtars,  (in  reference  to  their  occupation  often  called  Sweepers,)  are 
a  race  of  outcasts,  scattered  all  over  the  country.  In  religion  they  profess 
to  be  followers  of  a  certain  Lai  Beg;  of  whom,  however  they  know  almost 
nothing.  They  have  in  fact  scarcely  any  religion  ;  and  their  social  position 
is  a  very  degraded  one. 

The  Languages  in  use  within  the  bounds  of  the  Mission. 
The  languages  and  dialects  more  or  less  in  use  in  this  region,  (some  of 
them  with  local  variations,)  are  Urdu,  Hindi,  Panjabi,   Pashtu,  Kashmiri, 
and  Persian.     The  most  important  of  these  to  a  missionary  is  Urdu. 

Modes  of  Missionary  Labor. 
The  missionaries  give  their  time  and  strength  more  or  less  to  the 
different  kinds  of  labor  common  in  most  other  missions  : — (1)  "Preaching 
the  kingdom  of  God,"  publicly — in  chapels,  in  the  streets,  in  villages,  at 
fairs,  in  all  places  of  popular  concourse ;  and  teaching  inquirers,  privately, 
"  the  things  which  concern  the  Lord  Jesus  Christ."  All  are  expected  to 
lo  something  in  this  department  of  the  work  ;  and  some  give  a  large  part, 
if  not  the  whole  of  their  time  to  it.  (2)  Teaching  the  young  the  doctrines 
of  salvation  in  connection  with  secular  learning.  Few,  if  any,  of  our  mis- 
sionaries have  been  altogether  exempt  from  this  sort  of  work,  though 
some  have  thought  themselves  called  to  labor  in  a  different  sphere.  (3)  The 


6 

preparation,  printing,  and  circulation  of  Christian  books  and  tracts,  includ- 
ing vernacular  versions  of  the  Scriptures. 

Vernacular  Christian  Literature. 

The  Mission  Press,  set  up  at  Lodiana  in  1835,  has  for  many  years  issued 
from  six  to  ten  millions  of  pages  annually.  Its  publications  have  been  con- 
fined mainly  to  Urdu,  Hindi,  and  Panjabi.  This  is  the  only  press  in  India 
provided  with  Panjabi  types. 

The  portions  of  Scripture  translated  into  Panjabi,  and  printed  by  the 
Lodiana  Mission,  are  the  New  Testament,  Genesis,  Exodus  (chapters  1  to  *20), 
and  the  Psalms.  Besides  these,  the  books  and  tracts  prepared  and  publish- 
ed by  the  mission,  in  different  languages,  are  numbered  by  scores,  and  can- 
not therefore  be  detailed.  The  translation  of  the  New  Testament  into 
Pashtu — the  language  of  the  Afgans — may  be  mentioned  as  a  work  accom- 
plished by  a  member  of  this  mission,  though  it  was  printed  in  England. 

Schools  and  Orphanage. 

There  are  schools  at  most  of  the  stations,  for  both  boys  and  girls.  In  all 
of  them  the  vernaculars  are  taught,  and  in  some  of  them  English  as  well. 

At  Lahore,  which  is  the  capital  of  the  Panjab,  and  has  a  population  of 
about  100,000,  the  number  of  boys  and  young  men  under  the  instruction  of 
the  mission  is  about  1,600.  There  is  in  the  High  School  here  a  College  De- 
partment, affiliated  to  the  University  of  Calcutta.  The  principal  of  the  in- 
stitution is  Mr.  Forman. 

Several  of  the  Anglo-vernacular  schools  in  the  mission  prepare  young 
men  for  matriculation  in  the  University. 

At  Saharanpur  there  is  an  orphanage  for  poor  heathen  boys  who  have 
been  thrown  upon  the  world  by  the  death  of  their  parents.  They  are 
brought  up  under  Christian  influences,  and  many  have  given  evidence  of 
conversion.  Of  the  converts  several  have  been  ordained  as  evangelists  and 
pastors.  The  average  number  of  pupils  for  some  years  lias  been  between 
forty  and  fifty.  This  institution,  in  the  absence  of  Mr.  Calderwood,  is  under 
the  joint  management  of  Mr.  Kelso  and  Mr.  Wylie.  It  was  founded  by 
Dr.  Campbell  thirty-four  years  ago. 

Heathen  Girls'9  Schools. 

There  are  female  schools  composed  of  heathen  children  at  almost  all  the 
stations.  The  most  interesting  of  them  is  at  liawal  Pindi.  The  numbed* 
of  girls  and  young  married  women  in  the  school  there  has  sometimes  been 
as  high  as  a  hundred, — girls  of  different  castes,  different  religions,  and  dif- 
ferent grades  of  society — almost  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest. 

Native  Christian  Girls'  Boarding  Sc)i<»>/. 

At  Dehra  there  is  a  large  girls'  school,  in  which  nearly  a  hundred  of  the 
daughters  of  native  Christians  from  the  different  stations  of  the  mission 
are  receiving  an  excellent  education. 


8 

Girls1  Orphanage. 

An  orphanage  for  heathen  girls  was  established  thirty-six  years  ago  at 
Lodiana.  The  average  number  of  pupils  here,  too,  for  many  years,  has  been 
between  forty  and  fifty.  A  large  number  of  them  have  been  hopefully 
converted.  Their  influence  has  since  been  widely  felt,  as  wives,  mothers, 
and  teachers.    This  institution  is  superintended  by  Mrs.  Myers. 

Zenana   Work. 

Zenana  work  (instruction  given  to  native  ladies  in  their  private  apart- 
ments) is  carried  on  at  several  of  the  stations,  though  not  extensively,  as 
the  way  for  it  is  not  yet  fully  open.  It  is  opening  more  and  more,  how- 
ever, every  year. 

Medical  Missionary  Work. 

Some  of  the  missionaries  have  found  it  expedient  to  connect  the  practice 
of  medicine  with  preaching  ;  through  Dr.  Newton  of  Sabathu  is  the  only 
one  in  the  field  wrho  has  had  the  advantage  of  a  proper  medical  training. 
The  confidence  reposed  by  the  natives  in  the  medical  skill  of  Europeans 
and  Americans  may  almost  be  said  to  be  unbounded. 

Christian  Colony. 

The  Christian  colony  under  Mr.  Carleton  is  settled  on  some  1500  acres  of 
waste  land  given  him  by  the  government  for  this  purpose, — fifty  miles,  more 
or  less,  south  or  south-west  of  Ambala.  The  pursuits  of  the  colony  are  chiefly 
pastoral.  The  scheme  was  initiated  by  Mr.  Carleton,  and  he  bears  the 
whole  responsibility  of  it. 

Native  Churches. 

The  number  of  organized  churches  in  the  Lodiana  mission  is  eleven  ; 
and  of  native  church  members,  about  three  hundred.  There  are  church 
edifices,  however,  at  only  four  or  five  stations, — the  best  of  them  being  at 
Saharanpur  and  Lodiana.  In  most  places  the  congregations  worship  in 
school-houses.     None  of  the  churches  are  altogether  self-sustaining. 

In  addition  to  the  church  buildings,  there  are  chapels  at  some  of  the  sta- 
tions in  which  the  gospel  is  preached  regularly  to  the  heathen, — though 
Christians  also  attend.  At  Lahore  there  are  three  of  these  besides  a  school- 
room used  for  the  same  purpose. 

Presbyteries. 

Within  the  bounds  of  the  Lodiana  mission  there  are  three  Presbyteries, 
— the  Presbytery  of  Lodiana,  the  Presbytery  of  Lahore,  and  the  Presbytery 
of  Saharanpur. 

Progress  of  tlve  Truth. 

The  only  serious  obstacles  to  the  spread  of  the  gospel  in  India  are  the 
difficulties  of  caste,  the  prejudices   of  ancestral  faith,  and   that   native  de- 


9 

pravity  of  heart,  abetted  by  Satanic  influence,  which  opposes  the  truth 
in  all  countries  alike.  The  government  is  friendly ;  and  a  door  of  utterance 
for  missionaries  is  open  everywhere. 

The  most  virulent  opposition  generally  comes  from  the  Mohammedans,  as 
it  did  long  ago  from  their  Jewish  prototypes,  the  Pharisees  ;  yet,  strange 
to  say,  a  large  number  of  the  converts  are  from  this  class. 

Caste  is  losing  its  power,  and  prejudices  against  Christianity  are  giving 
way.  A  great  change  is  being  wrought  in  the  mind  of  the  people.  This 
change  is  the  result  of  many  causes,  all  working  in  the  same  direction. 

A  conviction  of  the  truth  of  Christianity  has  already  established  itself  in 
the  minds  of  multitudes  who  have  not  experienced  its  saving  power,  and 
who  are  not  therefore  willing  to  make  sacrifices  on  account  of  it.  If  the 
Spirit  were  given  abundantly,  many  who  now  halt  between  two  opinions 
would  be  constrained  to  made  an  open  confession  of  Christ.  As  it  is,  many 
are  called,  but  few  seem  to  be  chosen. 


SKETCH   OF   THE  FURRUKHABAD   MISSION. 

BY   KEY.    S.    H.    KELLOGG. 

Its  Position. 

The  Furrukhabad  Mission  occupies  a  triangular  territory  between  the 
rivers  Ganges  and  Jumna.  Its  eastern  limit  may  be  fixed  at  Allahabad, 
situated  at  the  confluence  of  these  two  rivers,  636  miles  north-west  of  Cal- 
cutta. The  western  boundary  may  be  represented  approximately  by  a  line 
drawn  from  one  river  to  the  other  at  a  distance  of  250  to  275  miles  north- 
west of  Allahabad.  Within  these  limits  the  Presbyterian  Church  occupy  all 
the  ground  except  the  district  of  Cawnpore,  in  which  the  British  Society  for 
the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  have  two  missionaries,  and  the  station  of 
Allahabad,  in  which  beside  our  own  missionaries  are  brethren  of  the  Church 
of  England  and  English  Baptist  Church.  It  should  be  remarked  that  while 
on  the  north-east  the  Ganges  definitely  limits  our  field,  dividing  it  from  the 
field  worked  by  the  American  Methodists  ;  on  the  other  hand  the  Jumna  on 
the  south-west,  is  not  such  a  definite  boundary,  inasmuch  as  the  whole 
populous  country  to  the  south,  as  far  as  the  Hindi  language  is  spoken, 
though  open  to  missionary  labor,  is  unoccupied  by  any  society. 

Formerly  our  missionaries  entered  India  at  Calcutta,  whence  they  were 
pulled  up  the  Ganges  in  boats,  a  long  and  wearisome  journey,  or  travelled 
more  rapidly,  though  still  slowly,  by  means  of  relays  of  horses.  Early  in 
the  last  decade,  rail  communication  was  opened  between  Allahabad  and 
Calcutta  reducing  the  time  to  36  hours.  More  lately  still  a  railway  has 
been  opened  from  Allahabad  to  Bombay,  860  miles;  the  opening  of  the  Suez 
Canal  has  occasioned  a  great  reduction  in  the  rates  of  travel  between  Lon- 


iO 

don  and  Calcutta ;  so  that  now  our  missionaries,  going  from  Liverpool  to 
Bombay,  in  less  than  four  weeks  find  themselves  after  38  hours  of  rail  trav- 
el in  Allahabad,  our  most  eastern  Mission  Station.  Here  turning  to  the 
north-west  and  taking  the  East  India  railroad,  now  continuous  with  its  branch- 
es about  1400  miles  from  Calcutta  to  Mooltan,  a  ride  of  40  miles  brings  us  to 
Futtehpore,  a  station  formerly  occupied  by  a  foreign  missionary,  but  now 
in  charge  of  a  native  brother,  and  superintended  by  our  missionaries  at 
Allahabad.  Continuing  our  journey  westward,  80  miles  further  on,  pass- 
ing through  Cawnpore,  the  scene  of  the  tragic  massacre  in  the  Sepoy 
Revolt  of  1857,  we  reach  our  next  mission  station  at  Etawah,  188  miles 
north-west  of  Allahabad.  Leaving  the  railroad  at  Etawah,  a  night's  ride 
with  oxen  brings  us  to  the  mission  house  at  Mynpurie,  32  miles  north  of  Eta- 
wah. Finally  turning  back  to  the  south-east  40  miles,  with  oxen  or  horses, 
brings  us  to  Futtehgurh  on  the  Ganges,  and  with  this  we  have  completed 
the  circuit  of  our  statious.  Leaving  a  more  detailed  account  of  these  seve- 
ral stations  for  the  present,  we  give  some  general  information  as  to  the  na- 
ture of  the  field  thus  occupied. 

Physical  Features  of  the  Country. 

This  whole  region  of  country,  like  the  rest  of  the  valley  of  the 
Ganges  is  an  almost  unbroken  alluvial  plain.  Here  and  there  the 
country  near  the  river  is  broken  by  steep  ravines,  cut  by  torrents  in 
the  rainy  season;  and  in  the  southern  borders  of  the  Allahabad  and 
Futtehpore  districts,  occasional  isolated  hills  appear,  rising  abruptly  out 
of  the  level  country,  outstanding  sentinels  of  the  Vindhya  mountains. 
But  as  a  general  thing  not  even  a  gentle  roll  varies  the  monotonous  level. 
Yet  though  the  country  has  not  the  beauty  arising  from  a  diversified  sur- 
face, in  its  wonderful  fertility  and  abundant  verdure  it  is  during  the  rainy 
and  subsequent  cool  season  a  goodly  land  to  behold.  Where  wells  or  canals 
make  irrigation  possible,  four  crops  in  succession  are  with  most  superficial 
culture  produced  within  the  year.  Everywhere  extensive  groves  of  the 
luxuriant  mango  tree,  with  now  and  then  clumps  of  the  graceful  palm,  or 
the  delicate-leaved  tamarind,  adorn  the  landscape,  in  striking  contrast  with 
the  Punjab  whose  dusty  plains  are  scarcely  relieved  by  the  scanty  foliage  of 
the  dwarfish  acacia.  As  compared  with  other  missions  in  warm  countries, 
our  missions  here  are  favorably  situated  in  respect  of  climate.  April,  May, 
and  June  are  excessively  hot  and  dry,  the  country  scorched  by  a  fierce  hot 
wind  which  blows  daily  from  the  Western  Desert,  raising  the  thermometer 
daily  much  above  100°  in  the  shade.  By  various  devices  however  this  extreme 
heat  Is  tempered  within  doors  so  that  the  range  is  20°  lower  than  outside. 
As  a  matter  of  fact  these  are  not  sickly  months.  About  the  first  of  July  the 
rains  begin,  and  in  three  months  we  have  a  rain  fall  about  equal  to  the  an- 
nual fall  on  North  Atlantic  coast  of  the  United  States.  During  this  season, 
though  the  thermometer  is  not  excessively  high,  the  ah'  is  extremely  sultry 
and  oppressive.     In  October  the  weather  begins  to  improve,  and  from  No- 


11 

vember  till  March  the  climate  of  Northern  India  is  perhaps  tmequaled.  Ex- 
cept perhaps  two  or  three  showers,  about  Christmas,  it  is  extremely  dry,  and 
the  thermometer  in  January  falls  as  low  as  44°,  giving  us  an  air  that  is  really 
bracing.  As  the  country  is  generally  well  drained,  and  the  water  good, 
there  is  not  often  much  serious  sickness  prevailing  ;  and  it  is  doubtless  safe 
to  say  that  in  few  tropical  countries  will  the  European  be  able  with  prudence 
to  maintain  better  health  than  in  the  lower  Doab  of  India. 

Population. 

A  country  so  fertile  has  naturally  attracted  all  the  invading  hosts 
which  from  the  earliest  dawn  of  history  have  poured  through  the 
Himalayan  passes  into  India.  And  so  it  has  come  to  pass  that  the  valley  of 
the  Ganges  presents  a  density  of  population  nowhere  in  the  world  approach- 
ed except  in  China  and  Japan.  Nowhere  else  can  the  preacher  of  the  Gos- 
pel with  a  given  outlay  of  time  and  labor  reach  such  multitudes  of  people. 
For  example,  the  census  of  18 67  gave  the  district*  of  Allahabad  a  population 
of  504  to  the  square  mile  ;  the  district  of  Furrukhabad,  in  which  is  the 
station  of  Futtehgurh  gave  the  high  figures  of  541  to  the  square  mile.  To 
appreciate  the  force  of  such  figures  it  may  be  observed  that  this  shows  a 
density  of  population  considerably  greater  than  would  appear  were  the  en- 
tire population  of  the  United  States,  to  be  settled  in  the  States  of  New 
York  and  Pennsylvania.  This  entire  population  is  settled  in  compact  towns 
and  villages.  Isolated  dwelling  houses  so  common  in  America,  are  very 
rarely  seen  in  India. 

Languages. 

The  dialects  spoken  by  the  people  in  the  limits  of  our  mission 
are  commonly  reckoned  two,  viz  :  Urdu  or  Hindusthani  and  Hindi, 
the  former  being  distinctively  the  dialect  of  the  Mohammedans,  the 
latter  of  the  Hindoos  or  idolaters.  The  former  is  spoken  throughout  India 
wherever  Mohammedans  are  found,  the  latter  is  only  found  in  Northern 
India.  In  point  of  fact,  however,  Hindi  itself  within  our  limits  appears  un- 
der two  different  dialects;  the  one  agreeing  with  the  Urdu  in  grammatical  sys- 
tem; the  other  (known  as  Kanaujiya)  presents  a  declensional  system  radically 
different.  As  the  former  of  these  two  Hindi  dialects  is  everywhere  under- 
stood, it  is  in  that  dialect  Hindi  Scriptures  and  most  tracts  are  published. 
The  Kanaujiya  is  the  local  dialect  of  our  field,  and  within  that  area,  is  with 
slight  variations  emphati  -'ally  the  home  language  of  the  great  mass  of  the 
people. 

As  the  Mohammedans  in  the  North-west  Provinces  constitute  but  one- 
seventh  of  the  population,  Hindi  is  the  most  useful  to  the  missionary;  Urdu  is  of 
much  less  consequence  here  than  in  the  Punjab,  where  they  number  half. 
Still  it  has  become  the  ecclesiastical  language,  and  as  moreover  the  Moham- 

*  A  district  corresponds  to  a  county  in  the  United  States,  i.  e.,  the  district  of  Furruk- 
habad is  about  70  miles  in  length  by  about  20  in  average  breadth. 


12 

medans  disdain  to  use  the  Hindi,  the  missionary  must  become  thoroughly 
familiar  with  this  dialect  as  well  as  with  the  Hindi.  The  local  dialect  is 
also  useful,  especially  for  ladies  who  labor  in  Hindoo  homes,  where  nothing 
else  is  ever  heard,  though  other  Hindi  may  be  understood.  It  may  be 
mentioned  that  our  missionaries  find  these  dialects  admirable  instruments 
of  thought  and  abundantly  able  to  carry  the  great  truths  of  Christianity. 
Further  it  is  one  great  advantage  that  their  acquirement  is  not  as  in  the  case 
of  Chinese  a  herculean  task,  from  which  some  may  perhaps  wisely  shrink ; 
on  the  contrary  neither  the  ancient  classic  tongues  nor  any  of  the  modem 
languages  of  Europe  can  be  compared  with  the  dialects  of  Northern  India  for 
simplicity  and  regularity.  Facility  in  acquiring  a  language  should  perhaps 
scarcely  ever  be  considered  in  deciding  the  question  of  labor  in  Northern 
India.  Nor  is  the  variety  of  dialects  so  embarrassing  as  one  might  sup- 
pose ;  so  intimate  are  their  relations  that  when  either  one  is  acquired  any 
other  comes  almost  without  conscious  effort. 

Religions. 

In  respect  of   religion  the    people   among    whom   we   labor   fall  under 
two    grand    divisions,    Mohammedans    and    Hindoos.       The     Mohamme- 
dans are  to  a  large  extent  descendants  of  the  Mohammedan   invaders   of 
India,  and  are  therefore  of  the  Shemitic  stock.    They  are  readily  distinguish- 
ed, as  they  have  a  lighter  complexion  and  dress  in  a  different  style  from  the 
Hindoos.     Many    Mohammedans    however    are    descended    from    Hindoo 
converts,  and  therefore  belong  to  the  native  Hindoo  race.    The  Mohammedans 
all  hold  to  the  divine  inspiration  of  the  Old  and  New  Testaments,  but  evade 
obvious  consequences,  by  maintaining  that  they  have  been  corrupted  by  the 
Christians,  and  in  any  case  have  been  abolished  by  the  later  revelation  of 
the  Koran.     It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  in  an  Introduction  to  the  Scriptures, 
prefacing  a  Commentary  on  the  Hebrew  text  of  the  book  of  Genesis,  written 
lately  in  Urdu  by  a  Mohammedan  Mania vi  of  Ghazipur,  the   integrity  of 
the  text  of  the  Scriptures  is  ably  maintained  in  opposition  to  most  of  his 
coreligionists.     But   the  Maulavi  is  not  a   representative    of    the   general 
opinion  of  his  people.     Possessed  of  a  creed  containing   more  elements  of 
truth  than  that  of  the  Hindoos,  as  theism  is  better  than  pantheism,  the 
Mohammedans  of  India  have   by  centuries   of   intercourse   with   idolaters 
themselves  become  tainted  with  the  idolatry  which  in  words  they  loudly  de- 
nounce.    In  various  places  are  sacred  shrines  supposed  to  contain  the  relics 
of  some  saint,  which  at  stated  times  are  visited  by  great  masses  of  people 
and  worshiped  as  truly  as  are  the  idols  of  the  Hindoos.     In  moral  charac- 
ter they  undoubtedly  fall  below  the  Hindoos  ;   and  are  more  cruel,  licentious 
and  deceitful  than  their  idolatrous  neighbors.     Nor  have  they  ever  shown 
equal  readiness  with   the  Hindoos  to  listen  to  the  gospel     The  Hindoo  is 
tolerant  so  long  as  every  man  holds  to  and  defends  the  faith  in  which  he 
was  born;  it  is  only  what  one  ought  to  do.     The  Mussulman  in  India  as 
elsewhere  is  intolerant  to  the  last  degree;  very  rare  is  it  that  the  missionary 


13 

refers  to  the  Divinity  or  Atonement  .of  our  Lord  in  a  Mohammedan  audi- 
ence without  awakening  scoffs  and  blasphemies,  and  sometimes  a  tumult  of 
angry  opposition.  Still  the  grace  of  God  has  triumphed  even  over  Moham- 
medan prejudice  and  hate  ;  and  out  from  the  followers  of  the  false  prophet 
have  come  some  of  the  most  staunch  and  noble  of  our  Christian  brethren 
in  Northern  India. 

The  term  Hindoos  really  comprehends  a  great  variety  of  religious  sects 
holding  tenets  often  utterly  contradictory.     In   general,  however,  they   all 
profess  to  hold  the  distinguishing  tenets  of  the  Brahminical  religion,  the 
impersonality  of  the  Deity,  the  transmigration  of  souls,  the  fourfold  divis- 
ion of  caste,  the  authority  of  the  Vedas,  Puranas  and  Shastras.    The  worship 
of  idols  is  almost  universal,  especially  those  of  Shiv  the  Destroyer  and  his 
wife  Parvati,  commonly  called  Devi  the  Goddess,  par  eminence.      Ganesh, 
the  god  of  wisdom  and  wealth  also  has  his  temples  ;  his  image  is  found  in  every 
shop,  and  his  worship  is  universal.     Of  all  their  gods  however  Ram  is  most 
universally  revered,  and  his  exploits  more  than  those  of  all  others  are  famihar 
to  the  people.     The  Ramayan,  containing  the  story  of  his  life,  is  everywhere 
read  and  listened  to  with  great  delight,  and  although  not  counted  a  sacred 
book,  probably  has  a  place  second  to  no  other  book  in  the  heart  of  the  peo- 
ple.    Yet  strangely  Ram  has  nowhere  either  image  or  temple.     The  masses 
in  their  idolatry  think  of  little  more  than  the  stone  to  which  they  bow,  and 
are  practically  polytheists,  yet  all,  when  asked  how  many  gods  there  are,  will 
always  join  the  Brahmins  in  the  pantheistic  formula,  "  There  is  one  God, 
there  is  not  another,"  (existence).     It  is  the  general  doctrine  that  all  life,  in- 
telligent or  not,  animal  or  vegetable,  is  one;  all  souls  "parts  of  the  Deity," 
now  appearing  now  vanishing  to   reappear  in  another  birth  in  a  different 
body.     The  four  grand  divisions  of  caste  are  tenaciously  held  ;  sub-divisions 
of  caste  are  also  recognized  to  the  number  of  several  hundred.     The  great 
majority  of  the  Hindoo  population,  e.  g.,  78  per  cent,  in  the  Furrukhabad  dis- 
trict, belong  to  the  Shudra  or  lowest  caste. 

Woman  holds,  as  in  all  heathen  countries,  a  condition  of  menial  inferiority 
both  among  the  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans.  The  Hindoo  women  are  not 
so  rigidly  secluded  and  confined  in  their  own  houses  as  in  some  parts  of  the 
East,  nor  even  as  the  Mohammedan  women  in  their  midst ;  but  amouo-  the 
respectable  classes  any  freedom  of  social  intercourse  between  the  sexes  is 
unknown.  Women  of  the  highest  social  position  are  often  in  the  streets, 
but  always  closely  veiled,  or  in  closely  covered  carnages.  Practically  the 
women  in  our  field  are  only  accessible  to  missionary  labors  of  their  own 
sex.  The  Hindoos  within  the  bounds  of  our  Mission  rarely  display  any 
violent  opposition  to  the  gospel;  the  missionary  usually  has  a  civil,  often  a 
cordial  reception.  Yet  we  rarely  see  cases  in  which  the  gospel  is  received 
with  any  avidity.  The  masses  really  think  or  care  little  about  the  future 
and  if  any  be  aroused  for  the  moment,  it  is  generally  only  to  sink  back  into  a 
fatalistic  apathy  and  indifference.  The  religious  leaders  of  the  people 
always  ready  for  discussion,  dispute  with  sophistry  and  craft,  intent,  not  on 


14 


' 


15 

learning  the  truth,  but  on  maintaining  their  own  position,  and  displaying  to 
a  crowd  their  own  dialectic  skill  and  volubility  in  Sanskrit. 

Within  the  bounds  of  the  Furrukhabad  Mission  are  a  few  other  sects,  who 
have  from  time  to  time  become  separated  more  or  less  from  their  Hindoo  coun- 
trymen. Such  for  example  are  the  Jains  in  the  Mynpuri  and  Etawah  districts, 
a  sect  presenting  some  points  of  connexion  with  Buddhism,  and  displaying 
the  same  utter  apathy  and  indifference  in  religious  matters  that  distinguish 
Buddhists  elsewhere.  They  are  few  in  number  and  none  from  their  midst 
have  entered  the  Christian  church.  More  intersting  are  the  Kabir  Panthis, 
i.  e.,  those  who  walk  the  way  of  Kabir.  Kabir  nourished  about  the  beginning 
of  the  15th  century.  He  vigorously  denounced  the  rites  and  ceremonies  of  the 
Hndoos  and  Mohammedans  as  empty  and  vain;  as  for  example,  in  the  fol- 
lowing extract  from  a  village  song, — 

"  Dirty  the  water  and  no  soap, — why  art  thou  rubbing  and  washing  away  ? 
The  stains  of  sin  are  deep  within  ! — when  I  see  this,  then  O,  I  weep !" 

Tie  seems  to  have  been  a  sincere  inquirer  after  truth,  and  to  have  had  in  a 
remarkable  degree  a  sense  of  sin  and  his  need  of  salvation  ;  thus : 

"  With  what  face  can  I  supplicate  thee  ?     Shame  cometh  to  me ! 
Thou  knowest  the  evil  1  have  done, — How  can  I  be  pleasing  in  thy  sight  f 

From  expressions  such  as  these  it  would  appear  that  he  was  not  a  Pantheist, 
as  he  certainly  was  not  an  idolater.  Still  to  avoid  persecution  he  allowed  his 
followers  to  conform  to  many  Hindoo  usages,  regarding  these  apparently  as 
intrinsically  powerless  for  either  evil  or  good.  Humanity,  especially  toward 
irrational  animals,  truth,  and  submission  to  the  spiritual  guide,  are  cardinal 
virtues.  So  many  things  in  the  writings  of  Kabir  and  his  immediate  disciples 
harmonize  with  important  Scripture  doctrines,  and  so  highly  are  his  writings 
regarded  even  by  those  who  do  not  profess  to  be  his  followers,  that  the  mis- 
sionary finds  them  of  no  little  value  in  discourse  with  Hindoos  generally,  as  a 
powerful  testimony  against  prevailing  errors  and  a  voice  of  the  conscience  for 
the  living  God.  Still,  while  the  Kabirs,  when  occasionally  met  are  considerate 
and  attentive  listeners,  it  has  not  thus  far  appeared  that  they  are  more  ready 
to  receive  the  gospel  than  the  Hindoos. 

Closely  allied  to  these  in  faith,  though  at  yet  a  further  remove  from  ortho- 
dox Hindooism,  are  the  Sadhs .  The  sect  is  not  large,  and  within  the  limits 
of  our  mission  is  found  chiefly  in  the  city  of  Furrukhabad,  where  they  num- 
ber about  2500  adherents.  They  reject  idolatry,  caste  and  pantheism  ;  though 
holding  rather  inconsistently  to  transmigration.  They  hold  that  the  Deity 
under  the  name  of  the  "  Shabd  "  "  or  Word,  Voice,"  has  been  manifested  in 
the  flesh  ;  though  they  deny  that  this  was  by  a  natural  birth,  and  seem  rather 
to  hold  to  a  Theophany  than  an  Incarnation.  Like  the  Kabiris  they  are  ex- 
cessively careful  of  animal  life,  and  rely  greatly  on  works  of  merit,  especially 
kindness  and  truth,  with  repentance,  for  salvation.  They  have  one  large 
building  or  enclosure  in  Furrukhabad  called  the  Chauk,  in  which  they  assem- 
ble every  full  moon  for  worship  of  the  Deity.  This  worship  is  much  after  the 


16 

Christian  fashion,  consisting  in  prayer,  vocal  or  silent,  singing  of  hymns,  and  re- 
ligious discourse.  They  have  no  priestly  or  clerical  order,  but  as  among  the 
Quakers  those  speak  who  may  be  inclined. 

The  Sadhs  are  many  of  them  very  wealthy  ;  no  man  is  allowed  by  his  breth- 
ren to  suffer  need.  Within  the  last  two  or  three  years  a  few  of  the  most 
prominent  men  among  them  have  sought  the  missionary,  and  even  repeatedly 
invited  him  to  their  place  of  worship  for  public  religious  discourse.  In  several 
instances  their  houses  have  been  visited,  both  by  the  missionary  and  by  his 
wife.  As  a  class  they  are  peculiarly  accessible,  though  it  is  to  be  feared  that 
there  have  been  no  conversions  among  them. 

From  the  above  it  will  readily  appear  that  our  field  is  one  of  peculiar  inter- 
est and  peculiar  difficulty.  We  are  surrounded  by  bigoted,  intolerant  Moham- 
medans, apathetic  Hindoos,  and  self  righteous  followers  of  various  heathen  re- 
formers. While  the  masses  are  utterly  uneducated,  they  are  by  no  means 
stupid  and  degraded,  as  many  tribes  of  Africa;  and  the  missionary  is  constantly 
n*eeiing  men  who  have  no  little  education,  and  who  often  with  the  English 
language,  have  learned  the  cavils  of  Western  scepticism  and  infidelity. 

A  deified  priesthood  dominates  over  the  great  part  of  the  people  ;  while 
caste  holds  six-sevenths  of  the  people  bound  in  iron  fetters. 

Unlike  many  other  peoples,  their  minds  are  preoccupied  by  a  false  philoso- 
phy. They  can  vaunt  systems  of  philosophy  as  profound  as  any  that  the  human 
mind  has  ever  elaborated  ;  a  voluminous  literature,  hi  which  is  not  wanting 
poetry  to  be  ranked  with  that  of  ancient  Greece  and  Rome,  treatises  on 
Grammar,  Prosody,  Music,  Mathematics  and  Astronomy.  They  have  their 
newspapers  published  in  both  the  vernacular  dialects,  in  both  the  Moham- 
medan and  Hindoo  interest.  And  with  all  this  the  general  feeling  is  one  of 
self  satisfaction,  though  there  is  a  desire  for  acquaintance  with  English  as 
opening  the  way  to  lucrative  employment.  There  is  no  general  awakening  of  the 
conscience,  no  quickened  sense  of  sin,  demanding  for  relief  a  divine  Atonement 
and  Redeemer.  The  absurdities  of  Hindooism,  if  abandoned  by  many  edu- 
cated men,  more  commonly  are  only  succeeded  by  a  dreary  deism  or  doubt 
of  all  religion. 

Stations. 

The  work  of  our  Mission  is  conducted  at  five  or  rather  six  central  stations  ; 
Futtehgurh  and  Eurrukhabad  practically  counting  as  two  stations. 

The  work  was  begun  in  Allahabad  in  183G.  This  is  a  station  of  much  im- 
portance. The  native  population  is  about  100,000.  It  is  the  seat  of  the 
( >  overnment  of  the  North  West  Provinces,  and  hence  the  residence  of  the  Lieu- 
tenant Governor  of  the  provinces  with  a  large  number  of  officials.  Here  is  an 
extensive  military  station  with  a  large  arsenal ;  so  that  altogether  the  Eng- 
lish residents  of  Allahabad  number  not  less  than  4000.  It  is  also  a  railway 
centre,  lines  diverging  hence  to  Calcutta,  Delhi  and  Lahore,  Lucknow  and 
Bombay.  As  the  junction  of-  the  two  sacred  rivers  Ganges  and  Jumna  is 
to  the  Hindoos  one  of  the  most  sacred  spots  in  the  world,    an    immense 


17 

mela  is  held  yearly  where  are  sometimes  gathered  more  than  a  million  people 
from  all  parts  of  India.  The  section  is  at  present  held  by  four  ordained 
Missionaries,  and  two  missionary  ladies  ;  who  are  aided  by  one  ordained 
native  minister,  five  teachers,  two  Scripture  readers,  and  two  Bible  women. 
Here  are  two  Christian  churches  of  70  communicants ;  a  Press  kept  abun- 
dantly busy  in  printing  both  for  the  Mission  and  for  Government.  It  is 
managed  entirely  by  native  Christians,  and  does  much  credit  to  their  busi- 
ness capacity. 

Next  after  Allahabad,  our  Missionaries  occupied  Futtehgurh,  in  1838. 
The  work  was  really  begun  by  a  godly  Colonel  Wheeler  in  the  British  army, 
who  had  himself  established  some  Christian  schools  and  in  a  season  of  famine 
had  gathered  many  orphans  together.  Some  of  these  he  committed  to  the 
care  of  our  missionaries,  and  so  began  the  Rakda  orphanage,  out  of  which 
has  grown  a  neat  Christian  village  of  some  300  souls,  in  which  is  a  church 
numbering  80  communicants. 

Three  miles  from  Futtehgurh  is  Furrukhabad  city,  of  about  73,000  inhabi- 
tants, near  which  in  1844  was  started  a  new  station,  from  which  has  arisen 
a  church  at  the  present  time  of  28  communicants. 

These  two  stations  are  occupied  regularly  each  by  two  missionaries.  At 
least  one  missionary  lady  is  an  absolute  necessity  at  each  place.  Seven  cate- 
chists  and  Scripture  readers  aid  the  missionary,  besides  Christian  teachers  in 
the  schools,  and  six  Christian  women,  zenana  visitor  and  teachers. 

Mynpurie  (Minepoory)  was  occupied  in  1843 ;  the  city  numbers  only  20,000, 
but  lies  in  the  midst  of  a  fertile  and  populous  district.  It  is  at  present 
held  by  one  ordained  missionary  and  two  missionary  ladies,  aided  by  six 
native  preachers,  and  a  colporteur,  and  one  zenana  visitor. 

An  out-station  has  recently  been  established  at  Shikohabad  on  the  E.  I.  R.  R., 
thirty-six  miles  west  of  Mynpurie.  The  church  now  numbers  thirty-four 
communicants. 

Next  after  Mynpurie  our  Mission  occupied  Futtehpore,  forty  miles  west 
of  Allahabad.  It  is  a  small  place,  but  as  lying  in  a  dense  population,  and  look- 
ing out  on  the  whole  unoccupied  territory  of  Bundelkhund,  is  a  station  of 
real  interest,  and  should  be  vigorously  worked.  It  is  worked  by  three  native 
brethren,  with  two  colporteurs.  A  foreign  missionary  from  Allahabad  assists 
them  at  times.     The  church  numbers  fourteen  commnicants. 

Last  of  all  Etawah  was  entered  by  our  Mission  in  1863.  Like  Mynpurie, 
it  is  not  a  large  city,  but  in  the  abundant  population  surrounding  offers  a  fine 
field  for  evangelistic  labor  ;  while  it  borders  on  the  rich  native  state  of  Gwalior, 
a  field  winch  some  day  God's  providence  may  call  us  to  enter.  The  work  is 
in  charge  of  one  married  missionary,  one  unmarried  lady,  who  are  aided  by 
seven  native  preachers  and  one  colporteur.  The  native  church  numbers 
twenty-nine; 

Educational  Work. 

Our    missionaries    are    engaged    more    or  less  in   educational    labors. 
In   Allahabad,   Futtehgurh   and  Furrukhabad  and    Mynpurie  are  Anglo- 
2 


18 


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19 

vernacular  schools  in  which  938  boys  last  year  were  receiving  instruc- 
tion both  in  the  vernaculars  and  in  the  English  language.  In  these  schools,  be- 
sides the  ordinary  common  school  branches  in  America,  boys  study  the  Indian 
classics,  the  English  language  and  literature.  Religious  instruction  is  dairy 
given  in  the  Scriptures,  Catechisms,  and  the  Evidences  of  Christianity.  Besides 
these  English  schools,  are  others  purely  vernacular.  Twelve  of  such  village 
schools  around  Futtehgurh  are  supported  entirely  by  the  Christian  bounty 
of  the  Sikh  Prince,  the  Maharaja  Dhulip  Singh,  at  an  expense  of  about  $600 
a  year. 

Evangelistic  Work. 

In  former  years  the  time  and  strength  of  our  missionaries  was  given 
largely  to  educational  work.  But  of  late  their  hearts  have  been  turned 
strongly  from  this  toward  a  more  vigorous  prosecution  of  labor  purely 
evangelistic  ;  the  simple  proclamation  and  teaching  of  the  gospel  to  the 
masses.  Our  missionaries  with  the  native  Christian  helpers  all  spend 
a  large  part,  often  the  whole  of  the  cool  season,  i.  e.,  from  November  15th  to 
March  15th,  among  the  villages  of  their  districts,  attending  moreover  both 
in  the  hot  and  cool  season  the  large  melas  which  may  happen  to  be  i  their 
vicinity.  By  these  itinerations  the  most  remote  corners  of  our  field  are 
reached  with  the  gospel,  while  in  these  large  concourses  of  people  many  are 
always  found  from  regions  far  remote  from  any  mission.  When  the  weather 
becomes  too  hot  to  live  in  tents,  the  same  work  is  still  kept  up  by  daily  preach- 
ing in  the  cities  and  villages  near  our  stations,  and  by  visitation  as  opportuni- 
ty offers  of  "  such  as  are  of  reputation  "  at  their  houses.  As  above  remarked 
the  missionary  receives  from  the  most  of  the  people  a  civil  reception  ;  occa- 
sionally the  message  is  received  with  apparent  interest,  more  commonly  with 
practical  indifference,  more  trying  to  the  preacher  than  the  violent  hostility 
which  he  very  rarely  encounters. 

Theological  Instruction. 

In  this  connection  may  be  mentioned  the  instruction  which  is  regularly 
imparted  to  our  native  helpers.  This  work  is  daily  assuming  more  promi- 
nence and  importance ;  and  is  regarded  by  all  the  brethren  as  of  the  very 
highest  consequence.  It  is  not  to  the  foreign  missionary,  but  in  great  part 
to  natives  of  the  country  called  by  God's  Spirit  and  thoroughly  taught  in 
the  gospel,  that  we  look  for  the  thorough  evangelization  of  India.  A  Theologi- 
cal school  at  Allahabad,  is  already  projected,  where,  during  a  part  of  the  year, 
our  helpers  will  be  gathered  from  various  stations  for  systematic  study. 
Hitherto  the  work  has  been  done  at  each  station  as  the  number  of  our  work- 
ing force  would  permit. 

Here  we  feel  is  a  work  itself  alone  worthy  of  the  entire  time  and  strength 
of  the  best  men  the  Church  can  furnish — a  work,  moreover,  second  to  none  in 
its  claims  upon  the  prayers  and  sympathies  of  the  Church  at  home. 


20 

The  Press. 

In  these  evangelistic  labors  the  Press  is  a  most  valuable  aid.  Great 
numbers  of  tracts,  many  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  and  thousands  of 
gospels  have  issued  from  the  Press  atLodiana  and  AUahabacl,  and  have  been 
scattered  throughout  Northern  India  among  all  classes  able  to  read  either  of 
the  vernacular  dialects.  Formerly  these  were  distributed  gratis,  but  the  opin- 
ion prevails  that  it  is  wiser  to  ask  a  small  price.  This  plan  where  it  has  been 
adopted  has  temporarily  checked  circulation,  but  judging  from  experience 
elsewhere,  where  once  it  is  well  understood  many  will  be  found  ready  to  give 
the  merely  nominal  sum  asked,  while  waste  of  books  will  be  avoided. 

The  literature  available  to  the  native  church  is  as  yet  very  limited.  The 
Pilgrim's  Progress,  Holy  War,  Flavel's  Fountain  of  Life,  a  Scripture  Hand- 
Book  and  a  few  other  works  have  been  translated  or  composed.  Commenta- 
ries on  Genesis,  the  Psalms,  Isaiah,  the  Gospel  of  Matthew  and  Epistle 
to  the  Colossians  have  been  published  in  Hindustani.  But  a  great  work  is 
before  us  here.  A  monthly  magazine  in  Urdu,  the  Makhzan  i  Masihi,  is  edited 
by  Rev.  Mr.  Walsh,  of  our  Mission  in  Allahabad,  and  sustained  mainly  by  the 
brethren  in  our  Mission.  Christian  gentlemen  connected  with  the  Indian 
Civil  Service  have  occasionally  contributed  valuable  articles.  Besides  original 
articles,  secular  and  religious,  in  this  magazine,  are  issued  serially  various 
Christian  books,  thus  giving  them  to  the  native  Christians  on  terms  adapted 
to  their  often  straitened  means.  The  periodical  has  a  circulation  of  a  few 
hundred,  and  is  steadily  rising  in  public  favor. 

Work  among  Women. 

In  consequence  of  the  peculiar  social  condition  of  India,  work  among  the 
women  claims  a  separate  mention.  While  in  our  village  audiences  a  few 
women  of  the  poor  agricultural  classes  occasionally  hear  the  gospel,  still  the 
missionary  cannot  usually  converse  with  them;  while  those  of  the  higher  classes 
are  very  rarely  even  in  hearing  of  our  preaching.  Thus  the  means  by  which 
we  have  reached  the  men  have  almost  universally  failed  to  reach  the  women 
of  India ;  till  within  the  last  seven  or  eight  years  respectable  women  might 
be  said  in  our  Mission  to  be  inaccessible  to  the  gospel.  Men  were  almost 
universally  adverse  even  to  the  education  of  a  woman  :  "  Why  should  she 
learn  to  read  1  What  good  would  it  do  her  f  But  four  or  five  years  have  seen 
a  great  change,  till  now  in  all  our  stations  where  we  have  a  missionary  lady 
there  is  systematic  labor  among  the  women  of  all  classes.  After  encounter- 
ing the  greatest  opposition,  zenana  schools  have  almost  become  popular. 
Especially  in  Mynpurie  and  Furrukhabad  the  missionary  ladies  have  not 
time  and  strength  to  visit  the  houses  which  are  freely  opened  to  them.  Our 
last  report  shows  almost  four  hundred  Hindoo  girls  and  women  under  in- 
struction in  three  stations.  Intercourse  with  the  missionary  ladies  has  awak- 
ened confidence.  Their  visits  have  in  Furrukhabad,  at  least,  been  several  times 
returned,  and  a  few  have  even  ventured  to  the  Christian  service,  where,  con- 


21 

eealed  by  a  curtain  in  an  adjacent  room  they  have  listened  to  the  gospel  at 
the  Sabbath  service. 

With  regard  to  this  portion  especially  of  our  work  is  it  true  that  "the  har- 
vest is  plenteous  but  the  laborers  are  few."  Will  the  church  at  home  give  her 
daughters  for  this  blessed  and  hopeful  work  ? 

In  the  bounds  of  this  mission  are  two  Presbyteries — Allahabad  and 
Furrukhabad — connected  with  the  Synod  of  India. 

Such  in  brief  is  the  field  and  the  work  in  the  Furrukhabad  Mission.  Six  small 
churches  may  seem  a  small  result  to  the  eyes  of  the  world  or  the  worldly-wise 
Christian ;  but  it  is  our  comfort  that  ll  the  Lord  seeth  not  as  man  seeth." 
What  we  long  and  pray  for  is  such  a  working  of  God's  Spirit  among  the 
people  as  that  Northern  India  shall  be  shaken.  Any  such  powerful  visitation 
has  never  yet  been  witnessed  by  any  Mission  in  North  India.  The  seed  has 
been  sown  bountifully  ;  now  we  need  the  rain.  The  church  of  God  in  our 
Mission  is  but  young  and  feeble,  but  it  has  had  its  martyrs ;  fair  households 
have  sealed  their  testimony  with  their  blood  from  the  church  in  Futtehgurh. 
Dwelling  where  emphatically  Satan's  seat  is,  these  churches  and  these  na- 
tive evangelists  have  a  most  urgent  claim  upon  the  prayers  and  affectionate 
sympathy  of  their  brethren  in  America. 


KALAPOOR  MISSION— W.  INDIA. 

This  mission,  with  its  missionaries,  Rev.  R.  G.  Wilder  and  his  wife,  were 
taken  under  the  care  of  the  Board  in  the  early  part  of  1870.  It  was  com- 
menced in  1852  by  these  laborers,  and  continued  for  some  time  in  connec- 
tion with  the  American  Board.  It  was  discontinued  during  Mr.  Wilder's 
visit  to  the  United  States  on  account  of  health.  It  was  re-established  by 
him  on  his  return,  and  continued  as  an  independent  mission  until  its  trans- 
fer to  our  Board. 

Kolapoor  lies  S.E.  of  Bombay,  about  60  miles  south  of  Satara,  and  120 
miles  S.E.  of  Poonah.  It  is  the  capital  of  a  province  of  the  same  name,  and 
contains  a  population  of  50,000.  "  As  seen  from  a  distance,  the  city  is  beau- 
tiful for  situation.  The  most  commanding  object,  next  to  the  King's  palace, 
is  the  towering  white  dome  of  a  very  large  temple.  Few  cities  or  places  in 
India  have  so  high  a  reputation  for  sanctity.  The  favorite  legend  among 
the  people  is,  that  the  gods  in  council  once  pronounced  it  the  most  sacred 
spot  of  all  the  earth.     More  sacred  than  Benares." 

Location  of  the  Mission. 

The  bungalow  is  situated  on  a  rise  of  ground,  from  which  the  city,  about 
a  mile  distant,  presents  a  fine  appearance.  On  the  west  are  the  Ghauts 
mountains  stretching  north  and  south,  with  here  and  there  a  fort  or  temple, 
or  town  on  the  summit.     The  intervening  tract  of  country  is,  for  the  most 


22 

part,  a  fertile  plain,  dotted  with  many  trees  that  retain  their  verdure  all  the 
year  round  ;  whilst  eastward  the  scenery  is  diversified  by  rolling  land. 

From  all  accounts,  this  climate  must  be  one  of  the  healthiest  in  Hindustan. 
Army  officers  are  generally  reluctant  to  leave  when  they  are  appointed  by 
government  to  another  station,  as  the  climate  is  so  agreeable  to  them.  The 
average  temperature  for  the  year  is  about  75 c — mercury  ranging  between 
55°  and  95° — though  the  latter  figure  is  not  very  often  reached.  A  daily 
sea-breeze  is  enjoyed  all  through  the  hot  season. 

Mr.  Wilder  ^encountered  at  the  outset  the  most  embittered  opposition,  the 
inhabitants  made  a  petition  to  government  to  have  him  removed  or  forbid  his 
preaching,  and  failing  in  that,  they  stubbornly  refused  to  have  any  inter- 
course with  him  for  a  long  time,  but  since  then,  thirty  or  more  have  been 
gathered  into  the  church,  and  the  people  have  long  since  learned  to  respect 
and  repose  confidence  in  him,  and  to  value  his  influence  in  the  cause  of  edu- 
cation. 

As  the  spiritual  foundation  of  this  church  was  laid  in  the  face  of  steady  op- 
position, so  the  erection  of  a  substantial  church  edifice,  in  an  eligible  part  of 
the  city,  was  accomplished  amidst  drawbacks  and  threatenings.  The  Mis- 
sion residence  is  very  well  constructed,  and  near  it  are  a  "  home  chapel,1'  and 
some  substantial  buildings  for  Christian  families.  Only  those  who  know  the 
difficulties  of  procuring  choice  locations,  suitable  materials  and  commendable 
workmen  to  erect  a  Christian  church  and  comfortable  dwelling  among  a 
heathen  population,  can  adequately  appreciate  the  blessing  of  such  a  solid 
temporal  foundation  as  this  mission  rests  upon. 

Schools  were  established  early  in  the  history  of  the  mission,  the  issues  of 
the  press  were  sold  or  given  away  and  other  means  suited  to  the  condition  of 
things  in  such  an  idolatrous  city  were  employed  to  reach  the  minds  and 
hearts  of  the  people  with  the  truth.  One  and  another  professed  their  faith 
in  Christ  and  were  baptized.  Interesting  schools  were  established.  Much 
seed  was  scattered  through  various  towns  and  villages  which  were  visited  by 
the  missionary.  A  neat  church  building  has  been  reared  in  the  city,  in  which 
religious  worship  is  regularly  observed. 

Rev.  G.  W.  Seiler  reinforced  this  mission  in  1870.  Two  ministers  are 
under  appointment  who  will  sail  for  that  station  in  a  few  months.  Mrs. 
Wilder  has,  by  her  school  and  her  visits  among  certain  families  in  the  city, 
reached  a  number  of  the  females  with  the  truth.  There  is  a  great  work  in 
this  direction  to  be  accomplished  all  through  this  province. 

A  church  of  about  twenty  members  is  found  at  Kolapoor.  A  High  School 
was  started  in  January,  1871,  and  is  attended  mostly  by  Brahmin  youth. 


23 


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MISSIONS    IN    INDIA. 


The  country  which  has  drawn  to  itself  in  various  ways  the  greatest  interest 
of  other  nations  has  been  India.  It  is  a  remarkable  land.  It  has  a  wonder- 
ful history.  It  is  inhabited  by  a  peculiar  people.  In  these  respects  it  stands 
alone  and  unrivalled.  Its  physical  features  are  marked  as  a  country  ;  the 
social  qualities  of  the  people  are  singular,  and  their  religious  systems  are 
notable  and  characteristic.  In  all  that  invests  a  land  with  romance ;  in  all 
that  seizes  and  dazzles  the  imagination  and  rivets  the  attention  of  outlying 
regions  and  peoples,  India  and  the  Hindoos  possess  in  a  wonderful  manner. 
Every  traveler  through  the  East  and  every  student  of  their  history  sees  and 
feels  this. 

Though  unity  is  implied  in  the  name  of  India,  in  no  country  is  there  so 
much  diversity  in  climate,  language,  race,  religion,  etc.  The  term  India  is  of 
foreign  and  not»of  native  origin.  At  first  it  was  used  for  the  country  around 
or  contiguous  to  the  Indus,  but  it  is  now  applied  to  the  region  extending  from 
the  Punjab  to  Cape  Comorin,  and  from  Kurrachee  in  the  west  to  Assam  in 
the  east.  The  extreme  length  is  about  1,830  miles,  and  its  greatest  breadth 
in  the  points  mentioned  is  nearly  the  same.  Its  area  is  1,558,254  square 
miles.  According  to  the  census  of  1872  the  population  of  British  India  num- 
bered 190,563,048,  living  on  an  area  of  904,049  square  miles.  There  are 
several  native  States  with  about  50,000,000  of  inhabitants  not  belonging  to, 
and  yet  in  some  way  under  the  control  of,  the  Indian  Government. 

RELIGIONS. 

The  following  is  an  estimate  of  the  number  adhering  to  the  leading  religions 
in  British  India: 

Hindoos 140,000,000 

Mohammedans 40,000,000 

Buddhists  .         . 3,000,000 

Sikhs       ........  1,000,000 

Christians 896,000 

Other  religions  among  Aborigines,  the  Parsees, 

etc 5,500,000 

LANGUAGES. 

Most  of  the  languages  of  the  country  are  classed  under  two  great  divisions. 
Those  called  Dravidian,  comprising  the  tongues  spoken  before  the  Brahmini- 
cal  and  Sanscrit-speaking  races  entered  the  country — as  the  Tamil,  Malaya- 
lam,  Canarese,  Talu,  Telugu,  Gondi.  The  Sanscritic  languages  embrace  Hindi, 


2  Missions  in  India. 

• 
Bengali,  Oriya,  Assamese,  Marathi,  Gujarati,  Sindhi,  Panjabi,  Cashmiri,  Nepali. 

The  Hindustani,  or  Urdu  (Camp  language),  which  is    spoken    so    much    in 

Northern  and  Western  India,  is  of  modern,  origin,  having  been  introduced  by 

the  Mohammedan  conquerors,  and  is  of  a  mixed  character. 

CONQUERORS    OF    INDIA. 

The  wild  tribes,  as  they  are  called,  are  said  to  number  about  200.  They  are 
the  aborigines  of  the  country,  who  fled  to  the  jungles  and  mountains,  and 
would  not-  submit  to  the  invaders.  Those  best  known  are  the  Gonds,  San- 
thals,  Khoonds,  Koles,  etc.  Those  who  entered  from  the  North,  and  who  dis- 
possessed many  of  these  tribes  of  their  heritage,  were  of  Scythian  origin. 
Following  these,  came  the  Arayans,  a  more  civilized  race,  from  Central  Asia, 
about  2,000  B.C.  The  Mohammedans  appeared  in  force  about  a.d.  1,000, 
and  for  many  weary  years  they  plundered,  massacred,  and  enslaved  the  people, 
and  until  overthrown  by  the  British  they  held  sway  over  a  large  portion  of  the 
country.  The  Portuguese  next  appeared  with  their  claims,  and  appointed 
a  Viceroy  of  India.  Then  the  English  came  in  an  humble  manner,  and 
principally  as  merchants.  The  first  territory  acquired  was  at  Madras,  in 
1640.  They  were  satisfied  with  a  foothold  here  and  there,  principally  on  the 
coasts;  but  for  more  than  one  hundred  years  they  have  been* annexing  prov- 
ince after  province,  until  now  the  whole  country,  in  one  form  or  another,  is 
tributary  to  them. 

The  first  conquerors  were  heathen  ;  then  came  the  Mohammedans,  next 
Romish  Powers,  and  last  a  Protestant  nation,  under  whose  sway  wonderful 
changes  have  been  made,  great  progress  has  taken  place  in  the  material  pros- 
perity of  the  country,  and  in  the  social,  intellectual;,  and  moral  condition  of 
the  people.    "  India  is  the  noblest  trust  ever  committed  to  a  Christian  nation." 

HINDOOS. 

These  comprise  about  three-fourths  of  the  population  of  British  India.  The 
system  called  Hindooism,  or  Brahminism,  is  "the  masterpiece  of  Satan;"  "the 
most  gigantic  system  of  error  ever  devised;"  "the  grandest  embodiment  of 
Gentile  error."  It  puts  on  so  many  forms ;  it  suits  so  many  tastes  ;  it  pos- 
sesses so  many  varied  characteristics,  that  no  one  term  can  describe  it.  It  is 
pantheistic  or  polytheistic,  as  the  worshiper  wishes;  it  is  spiritual  or  material, 
as  the  believer  in  it  desires.  It  is  pure  theism  or  the  grossest  idolatry,  as  the 
votary  chooses.  It  has  a  wonderful  philosophy  or  the  most  degraded  fetishism. 
It  has  lofty  ideas  of  right  and  truth,  and  the  most  absurd  conceptions  of  what 
is  pure  and  good.  Some  of  its  teachings  seem  a  revelation  from  Heaven  ; 
while  others  are  foolish,  absurd,  and  debasing.  In  one  view  its  philosophy  is 
transcendental ;  in  another,  it  abounds  in  myths,  fables,  and  frivolous  cere- 
monies. At  one  time  everything  is  real  and  material;  at  another,  all  is  illu- 
sory and  deception,  and  nothing  exists  but  the  Supreme.  It  is  sensual  or 
ascetic,  good  or  evil,  allied  to  the  Divine  or  devilish,  according  to  the  posi- 


Missions  in  India.  3 

tion  taken.  Whatever  may  be  said  of  the  system  and  of  some  few  who  rise 
above  its  grosser  forms  of  superstition,  it  holds  true  of  the  mass,  that  they  are 
wholly  given  to  idolatry.  Nothing  is  too  low,  absurd,  or  vile  that  has  not  a 
worshiper.  Idols  everywhere  abound,  rites  are  numerous,  merit  is  sought 
after,  sin  is  removed  by  penances  and  sacrifices ;  and  in  this  belief  and 
with  these  practices,  men  and  women  are  in  earnest,  and  in  love  with  what  is 
taught  by  an  ignorant  priesthood  and  what  law  and  tradition  impose  on  them. 
Sad  is  the  moral  state,  dark  are  the  spiritual  hopes  and  prospects  of  every 
Hindoo.  There  is  nothing  elevating,  joy-giving,  or  transforming  in  his  endless 
round  of  observances. 

MOHAMMEDANS. 

More  are  found  in  India  than  exist  under  any  one  government  in  the  East. 
Whilst  Mohammedanism  has  affected  Hindooism  in  many  of  its  rites  Hin- 
dooism  has  exerted  a  deteriorating  influence  on  Islam,  and  in  some  places  it 
is  little  more  than  a  form  of  Hindooism.  Many  Mohammedans  not  only  hold 
to  caste,  but  are  guilty  of  idol-worship.  The  lower  classes  are  morally  worse 
than  the  Hindoos.  They  are  more  quarrelsome,  more  violent,  and  more  licen- 
tious. The  spiritual  element  in  Mohammedanism  is  very  scant.  It  is  largely 
a  religion  of  forms,  and  arrays  itself  specially  in  hostility  to  Christianity.  The 
hatred  which  it  cherishes,  the  crimes  which  it  nourishes,  the  fanaticism  which  it 
creates,  are  all  antagonistic  to  truth  and  righteousness.  Like  Hindooism  it  is 
a  tremendous  enginery  of  evil. 

These  are  the  two  prevailing  religious  systems  in  India,  and  they  hold  the 
people  in  the  direst  servitude,  and  under  the  power  of  custom  that  is  irrevo- 
cable and  unyielding.  Hindooism,  especially,  is  as  potent  in  social  life  as  in 
moral  questions.  It  legislates  for  the  man  in  all  his  relations  as  a  simple 
being,  and  it  adapts  itself  to  him  in  all  his  wants,  desires,  and  aims.  His 
thoughts,  his  feelings,  his  movements,  are  all  affected  and  controlled  by  his 
religious  belief. 

SIKHS. 

There  is  another  religious  sect  called  Sikhs,  found  chiefly  in  the  Punjab,  but 
•they  are  only  a  sect  of  Reformed  Hindoos,  though  in  belief  and  morals  they 
are  no  better  than  those  from  whom  they  separated.     Whilst  they  have  their 
own  sacred  books,  they  are  believers  in  the  Veds  and  Shastres,  and  they  gen- 
erally regard  themselves  as  Hindoos. 

There  is  a  legend  which  attributes  to  the  Apostle  Thomas  the  establishment 
of  the  Church  in  India.  This  rests  upon  a  slender  foundation.  Report  again 
asserts  that  from  Alexandria  a  teacher  went  forth  toward  the  close  of  the  sec- 
ond century  who  proclaimed  the  Gospel  in  Southern  India.  If  he  did,  there 
is  no  record  of  his  labors.  There  is  no  authentic  account  of  much  having 
been  done  until  the  Nestorian  movement  in  the  sixth  century,  and  this  was 
confined  to  a  small  section  in  the  South.     Here  this  sect  lived ;  and  to  this 


4  Missions  in  India. 

day  they  have  maintained  their  existence,  though  accomplishing  but  little  for 
the  evangelization  of  others. 

The  first  great  movement  for  making  the  people  of  India  acquainted  with 
Christianity  was  that  of  Xavier  and  his  followers.  Full  of  zeal,  enthusiasm,  and 
the  spirit  of  self  sacrifice,  this  chief  of  the  Jesuits,  desirous  of  gaining  countless 
thousands  to  his  faith,  stopped  at  nothing  that  would  interfere  with  his  purpose, 
and  with  a  heroism  worthy  of  a  purer  cause,  and  a  self-devotion  worthy  of  all 
praise,  he  consecrated  all  his  time  and  energies  for  making  proselytes  to  Rome. 
He  rose  above  difficulties  that  would  have  awed  weaker  natures,  and  gave 
himself  wholly  to  his  work.  Others  followed  him  who  had  a  desire  to  add 
converts  to  Rome,  but  they  lacked  his  self-denying  spirit.  These  baptized 
proselytes,  numbered  by  hundreds  of  thousands,  knew  little  or  nothing  of  the 
purity  and  the  power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus,  and  most  of  them  were  but  bap- 
tized heathen. 

The  first  Protestant  effort  to  acquaint  the  people  with  the  great  doctrines  of 
the  Bible  took  place  in  1705,  when  two  missionaries  were  sent  to  Southern 
India  by  the  King  of  Denmark.  These  labored  with  fair  success.  Some 
others  followed  them  into  the  same  region,  and  did  a  good  preparatory  work. 
The  first  important  English  movement  began  with  Carey.  This  was  the  begin- 
ning of  the  great  Evangelistic  effort  of  the  age.  The  Church  was  moved  by 
it,  and  its  influence  was  felt  in  England,  and  in  our  own  and  other  countries, 
until  now  almost  every  Protestant  denomination  is  laboring  for  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  India. 

At  first  the  East  India  Company,  all-powerful  within  its  own  domain,  pro- 
hibited missionaries  from  living  and  preaching  to  the  natives  in  its  territory. 
Various  reasons  were  assigned  for  this,  but  selfishness  was  the  all-controlling 
one.  As  the  missionary  sentiment  grew  in  England,  opposition  to  this  exclu- 
sive spirit  increased,  and  in  spite  of  worldly  policy  and  expediency,  it  triumphed 
when  the  revision  of  the  Company's  charter  took  place  in  1813.  Then  India 
was  thrown  open  to  the  Gospel,  and  from  that  time  to  this  the  number  of 
laborers,  foreign  and  native,  has  gradually  increased,  until  it  is  becoming  a 
mighty  host. 

One  of  the  first  missions  outside  of  our  own  country  undertaken  by  the" 
Presbyterian  Church  as  such,  was  that  to  India.  The  Rev.  Messrs.  John  C. 
Lowrie  and  William  Reed,  and  their  wives,  sailed  in  May,  1833,  and  reached 
Calcutta  in  October.  It  was  the  wish  of  the  Society  that  sent  them  out  that 
they  should  choose  as  high  a  latitude  as  the  interests  of  the  cause  would  allow. 
In  virtue  of  their  instructions  the  upper  provinces  of  India  were  select  -A  as 
the  mission-field  of  our  Church.  Of  this  first  company  only  one  was  privi- 
leged to  enter  upon  the  work,  and  only  to  enter — for  after  a  two  years*  trial 
with  the  climate  and  with  sickness,  Mr.  Lowrie,  after  laying  the  foundations 
of  the  Mission  at  Lodiana,  was  obliged  to  return  home  ;  Mrs.  Lowrie  died 
soon  after  landing  at  Calcutta,  and  Mr.  Reed  on  his  passage  home,  August  12, 
1834.     During  Mr.   Lowrie' s  stay  in  India  he  visited  the  Punjab,  but  this 


Missions  in  India.  5 

country,  then  ruled  over  by  Ranjeet  Singh,  was  not  occupied  by  the  Mission 
until  after  its  annexation  to  the  British  Power.  This  was  owing  to  the  unwil- 
mgness  of  the  sovereign  to  have  any  missionary  in  his  country,  and  to  keep 
his  people  free,  as  far  as  possible,  from  all  foreign  influence.  Lodiana,  on  the 
borders  of  the  Punjab,  was  a  place  of  some  25,000  inhabitants,  and  of  rising 
importance  ;  it  was,  therefore,  selected  as  the  «nost  fitting  place,  in  view  of  the 
present  and  prospective  advantages  of  the  work,  and  has  been  occupied  ever 
since.  When  it  ceased  to  be  a  frontier  town,  by  the  annexation  of  the  Punjab, 
it  lost  something  of  its  population  and  much  of  its  importance.  In  November, 
1834,  the  Rev.  Messrs.  James  Wilson  and  John  Newton  sailed  for  India,  and 
arrived  in  November,  1835,  at  Lodiana.  They  were  followed  by  Rev.  James 
R.  Campbell  and  James  McEwen,  and  Messrs.  Jesse  M.  Jamieson,  William  S. 
Rogers,  and  Joseph  Porter,  who  were  afterwards  ordained  to  the  Gospel  min- 
istry ;  Mr.  McEwen  remained  at  Allahabad,  and  the  others  pushed  on  to 
Upper  India. 

These  missionaries  were  all  in  connection  with  the  Western  Foreign  Mis- 
sionary  Society,  whose  headquarters  were  at  Pittsburgh,  but  after  the  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  was  established  in  1837,  all  its  missions  were  transferred  to 
the  Board.  In  the  year  of  the  organization  of  the  Board,  Rev.  Messrs. 
Henry  R.  Wilson,  John  H.  Morrison,  Joseph  Caldwell,  and  their  wives ;  also, 
Mr.  James  Craig,  teacher ;  and  Mr.  R.  Morris,  printer,  with  their  wives,  sailed 
for  this  field.  At  this  time  four  stations  were  planted,  and  a  wide  door  was 
open  for  all  that  the  Church  could  send. 

When  this  territory  was  occupied  by  us  there  was  scarcely  a  missionary  of 
any  name  in  it.  Our  own  stations  now  extend  from  Allahabad  to  Rawal 
Pindi,  a  distance  of  900  miles ;  while  the  country  to  the  east  has  been  occu- 
pied by  the  Methodists  from  the  United  States,  and  that  to  the  west  by  the 
United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland,  and  other  portions  of  it  by  English 
or  American  Societies.  The  population  of  the  North-west  Provinces,  accord- 
ing to  the  census  of  1872,  is  31,500,000,  and  of  the  Punjab,  19,000,000.  A 
portion  of  this  territory  is  densely  populated.  Thus,  the  district  of  Allahabad 
has  a  population  of  501  to  the  square  mile,  while  that  of  Furrukhabad  has  527 
for  the  same  area.  Belgium,  the  most  densely  populated  country  in  Europe, 
has  447  to  the  square  mile. 

This  territory  formerly  embraced  three  missions,  but  these  have  been  re- 
duced to  two,  called  Furrukhabad  and  Lodiana. 

FURRUKHABAD    MISSION. 

In  this  Mission  are  six  stations  and  several  sub-stations — the  latter  have 
native  laborers.  The  distance  from  Allahabad  to  Mynpurie  is  about  220 
miles,  and  within  these  limits  the  entire  ground  is  occupied  by  our  Church, 
with  the  exception  of  Cawnpore,  where. are  stationed  laborers  of  the  Propaga- 
tion Society.  This  region  is  triangular  in  shape,  and  lies  between  the  two 
great  rivers,  Ganges  and  Jumna.     It  is  almost  one  unbroken  plain.     The  Ian- 


6  Missions  in  India. 

guages  spoken  are  Hindustani  or  Urdu,  and  Hindi.  The  former  is  spoken  by 
the  Mohammedans  ;  the  latter  by  the  Hindoos ;  whilst  the  Mohammedans 
disdain  the  Hindi,  the  Hindoos  constituting  by  far  the  largest  part  of  the 
population,  are  acquainted  with  the  Urdu,  and  this  is  generally  the  first  lan- 
guage studied  by  the  missionary.  Each  of  these  languages  may  be  considered 
as  easy  of  acquisition.  • 

Besides  the  two  great  leading  religious  divisions — the  Hindoos  and  Mo- 
hammedans— there  are  some  minor  sects  who  have  separated  from  the  Hin- 
doos.    They  are,  however,  small  in  the  number  of  adherents. 

STATIONS. 

Allahabad. — This  important  and  rapidly  increasing  city,  with  a  population 
of  144,000,  lies  at  the  junction  of  the  Jumna  and  Ganges  rivers,  and  is  now 
the  seat  of  government  for  the  north-western  provinces.  Its  political  impor- 
tance is  great,  while  in  its  religious  bearings  it  is  to  the  Hindoo,  sacred  indeed. 
Two  rivers  only  are  seen,  but  to  the  credulous  Hindoo  three  exist,  the  invisible 
one  being  underground  ;  hence  the  name  by  which  this  city  is  called  by  the 
natives,  Tribeni — conflux  of  three  rivers.  "  When  a  pilgrim  arrives,  he  sits  on 
the  brink  of  the  river  and  has  his  head  and  body  shaved,  so  that  each  hair  may 
fall  into  the  water ;  the  sacred  writings  promising  him  one  million  of  years 
residence  in  Heaven  for  every  hair  there  deposited."  At  the  annual  mela 
many  thousands  gather  from  all  parts  of  the  land  for  trade,  merit,  and  gain. 
When  the  pilgrim  bathes,  it  must  be  where  the  two  rivers  meet.  Near  to  this 
spot  are  square  platforms  on  which  the  religious  teachers  sit  to  read  from  their 
sacred  books  to  the  audience  assembled.  The  opportunity  of  proclaiming  the 
way  of  salvation  is  seized  by  the  missionary,  and  thus  many  hear  of  Jesus  and 
the  resurrection  for  the  first  time  at  this  mela. 

This  station,  though  the  most  southern,  was  the  second  one  occupied  by 
the  Board  in  1836,  and  from  that  time  to  the  present  it  has  been  constantly 
manned  by  foreign  missionaries.  Three  are  at  present  in  connection  with  it, 
who  reside  at  two  different  points  of  the  city,  and  two  are  at  home.  A  church 
was  soon  organized,  schools  established,  an  orphanage  begun,  and  a  printing 
press  put  in  operation,  which  continued  many  years  under  missionary  supervis- 
ion, and  belonged  to  the  Mission.  It  was  afterwards  transferred  to  the  natives, 
who  have  managed  it  ever  since.  In  the  Orphanage  have  been  trained  some 
of  the  best  helpers  and  the  most  consistent  Christians,  several  of  whom  have 
been  employed  by  other  missionary  societies.  In  the  high  school  many  have 
been  made  acquainted  with  the  principles  of  Christianity,  though  few  have,  as 
yet,  openly  embraced  it.  There  are  two  churches  at  this  station  ;  one  of 
them  is  ministered  to  by  the  Rev.  J.  J.  Caleb,  who  owns  and  has  charge  of  the 
press.  Miss  Seward,  M.D.,  and  Miss  Wilson  are  actively  engaged  among  the 
women.  The  former  seeking  by  her  medical  skill  to  alleviate  suffering  and 
lead  the  thoughts  of  the  afflicted  to  the  Great  Physician.     The  latter,  in  com- 


Missions  in  India.  j 

mon  with  the  other  ladies  of  the  Mission,  visiting  zenanas  and  teaching  those 
whom  they  can  reach  of  the  great  salvation. 

The  following  missionaries  have  labored  at  this  station,  some  for  a  short 
time  and  others  for  a  longer  period ;  some  have  died  ;  some  are  at  work  at 
other  stations ;  and  some  on  account  of  failure  of  health  have  been  obliged  to 
return  home.  The  first  laborer,  Mr.  McEwen,  remained  only  two  years  ;  he 
was  succeeded  by  Rev.  John  H.  Morrison  in  1838,  now  Dr.  Morrison,  of 
Sabathu ;  Rev.  James  Wilson  came  down  to  this  station  from  the  upper  Mis- 
sion in  the  same  year ;  Rev.  Messrs.  Warren  and  Freeman  arrived  here  in 
1839  >  Rev.  Joseph  Owen  in  1840 ;  Rev.  John  Wray  1842  ;  Rev.  A.  A.  Hodge 
1848;  Rev.  Robert  Munnis  was  transferred  to  it  in  1848;  Rev.  L.  G.  Hay 
and  H.  W.  Shaw  arrived  1850  ;  Rev.  Robert  E.  Williams  transferred  1858,  and 
Rev.  J.  J.  Walsh  1859  ;  Rev.  Messrs.  W.  F.  Johnson  and  B.  D.  Wikoff  arrived 
i860.  These  two  were  stationed  here  for  a  short  time,  also  the  Rev.  James 
M.  Alexander,  who  arrived  1866.  Rev.  A.  Brodhead  was  transferred  1869  ; 
Rev.  T.  S.  Wynkoop  arrived  early  the  same  year;  Rev.  F.  Heyl  1870; 
Rev.  James  Holcomb  transferred  1872.  The  present  laborers  are  Rev. 
Messrs.  Johnson,  Heyl,  and  Holcomb,  with  their  wives,  Miss  Sarah  C.  Seward, 
M.D.,  and  Miss  Mary  N.  Wilson.  Absent  in  the  United  States,  Rev.  Dr. 
Brodhead  and  Rev.  Mr.  Wynkoop. 

Fattehgiirh. — This  place,  extending  on  the  west  bank  of  the  Ganges  for 
about  two  miles,  was  at  one  time  a  military  station  of  some  note,  but  it  has 
largely  lost  this  since  the  extension  of  the  British  frontier.  It  was  occupied 
as  a  station  by  Rev.  Henry  R.  Wilson  in  1838.  A  portion  of  the  orphan 
children  who  had  been  gathered  by  Dr.  Madden  at  Futtehpore,  were  made 
over  to  Mr.  Wilson,  and  these  were  increased  after  his  settlement  at  Futteh- 
gurh  by  orphans  that  had  been  collected  by  Captain  Wheeler.  The  Orphan- 
age was  at  first  largely  sustained  by  the  foreign  residents.  Carpet-weaving 
was  undertaken,  and  also  making  of  tents,  so  as  to  reduce  the  heavy  expense 
and  train  the  older  boys  to  habits  of  usefulness.  In  time,  as  the  orphans 
married,  they  were  located  on  ground  given  at  a  nominal  rent  by  the  Govern- 
ment, and  on  a  portion  of  it  a  large  Christian  village  has.  sprung  up.  A  num- 
ber of  good  and  earnest  laborers  have  been  sent  out  from  this  Orphanage,  and 
some  of  them  have  done  well  in  business  pursuits,  and  especially  in  the  man- 
agement of  the  tent  factory,  which  is  now  under  their  control.  This  church, 
consisting  of  100  members,  has  had  its  own  native  pastor,  who  has  been  liberally 
supported  by  them.  There  are  still  some  orphans  (girls)  maintained  in  the 
institution,  which  has  been  under  the  supervision  of  unmarried  ladies.  The 
orphan  boys  live  in  native  Christian  families.  Gopinath  Nundi,  educated  in 
Dr.  Duff's  school  at  Calcutta,  where  he  renounced  Hindooism  and  publicly 
made  a  profession  of  faith  in  Christ,  was  connected  with  the  station  from  the 
beginning — first  as  a  teacher  and  then  as  an  ordained  minister.  He  was  the 
first  elder  in  the  native  church.  His  influence  was  good  in  the  community  in 
behalf  of  Christianity,  and  his  noble  testimony  in  the  mutiny  showed  how  he 
was  upheld  by  principle. 


8  Missions  in  India. 

Rev.  J.  L.  Scott  and  wife  reached  this  station  early  in  1839,  an^  on  return 
of  Mr.  Wilson  to  the  United  States,  they  took  charge  of  the  Orphanage.  In 
the  following  year  Rev.  J.  C.  Rankin  and  William  H.  McAuley,  and  their 
wives,  and  Miss  J.  Vanderveer  arrived.  Besides  the  work  to  be  done  at  the 
station  and  in  the  surrounding  villages,  a  high  school  in  Furrukhabad  was 
commenced,  and  buildings  erected  for  missionary  residences  near  to  this  city. 
Rev.  J.  J.  Walsh  and  wife  joined  this  station  in  1843  >  Rev.  D.  Irving  and  wife 
early  in  1847  ;  Rev.  D.  E. 'Campbell  and  wife  in  1850.  After  the  mutiny  Rev. 
R.  S.  Fullerton  and  wife  were  transferred  to  this  station;  also  in  1864  Rev.  W.  F. 
Johnson  and  his  wife.  After  them  came  Rev.  Thomas  Tracy  in  1871.  Rev. 
Dr.  Warren  was  here  for  a  short  time.  This  station  has  at  the  present  time 
no  missionary,  except  the  young  ladies — Miss  Scott  and  Miss  Woodside.  The 
work  has  been  and  is  carried  on  chiefly  by  native  laborers. 

Furrukhabad. — This  city  lies  near  the  Ganges,  and  about  three  miles  from 
Futtehgurh.  It  is  surrounded  by  a  wall,  which  is  gradually  disappearing 
under  a  sense  of  security  in  the  Government.  It  is  a  place  of  commercial 
importance  and  of  considerable  wealth ;  but  it  is  losing  some  of  this,  owing  to 
its  distance  from  the  railroad.  Its  population  is  about  80,000.  There 
is  a  dense  population  in  the  District.  For  many  years  this  station  was  con- 
nected with  Futtehgurh,  though  occupied  in  1844  Dv  Messrs.  Rankin  and 
McAuley.  A  high  school  in  the  city  was  established,  preaching  commenced, 
and  efforts  made  to  acquaint  the  people  with  Christ  and  His  salvation.  From 
one  of  the  classes  in  the  high  school  came  three  converts ;  the  first  one  bap- 
tized was  Dhokul  Pershad,  who  perished  in  the  mutiny  after  a  noble  confession  ; 
others  who  came  out  of  the  Institution  as  Christians  have  been  firm  in  the 
faith.  A  church  under  the  care  of  a  native  pastor  has  been  organized.  Twelve 
bazar  schools  are  in  active  operation,  supported  by  the  Maharajah  Dhulip 
Singh.  A  number  of  zenanas  are  open,  and  are  visited  by  the  ladies  at  the 
station.  Girls'  schools  and  zenana  schools  are  also  under  their  care,  and  a 
good  work  is  going  on  in  the  city  and  the  neighboring  villages. 

Two  incidents  have  taken  place  in  connection  with  Futtehgurh  that  have 
given  it  some  note.  One  is  the  baptism  of  the  Maharajah  Dhulip  Singh,  son 
of  Ranjeet  Singh,  who  was  ruler  of  the  Punjab  when  our  Mission  began  on  the 
borders  of  his  kingdom.    When  the  country  was  annexed  to  the  British  Power 

the  young  ruler  was  brought  to  F ,  and  a  Brahmin,  who  had  been  a  pupil 

in  the  high  school,  was  selected  as  his  companion.  Under  his  influence  the 
Prince  became  acquainted  with  the  Bible;  gave  up  his  own  religion;  was  pub- 
licly baptized  in  1853,  and  from  that  day  to  this  has  been  a  warm  friend  and  a 
liberal  supporter  of  missions,  giving  thousands  annually  to  the  cause. 

The  other  event  was  the  massacre  of  the  Futtehgurh  missionaries  on  their 
way  to  Cawnpore  during  the  mutiny  in  1857.  Messrs.  Freeman,  Campbell, 
Johnson,  and  McMullin,  and  their  wives,  with  two  children  of  the  Campbells, 
perished  in  their  effort  to  reach  a  place  of  safety.  The  Johnsons  arrived  at 
Furrukhabad  in  1855,  and  the  McMullins  in  January,  1857,  but  a  short  time 
before  they  were  called  to  their  Father's  home. 


Missions  in  India.  9 

Besides  the  names  mentioned,  Rev.  A.  H.  Seeley  and  wife  joined  the  Fur- 
rukhabad  station  in  1847  ;  Rev.  J.  F.  Ullmann  in  1848  ;  Rev.  A.  Brodhead 
and  wife  1863  ;  Rev.  E.  H.  Sayre  and  his  wife  1863  ;  Rev.  S.  H.  Kellogg 
1865  ;  Rev.  Messrs.  Lucas  and  Seeley  187 1.  Miss  E.  A.  Blunt  and  Mrs.  E.  L. 
Brown  are  engaged  in  zenana  work  and  in  visiting,  the  girls'  schools. 

Mynpoorie  {Minepoory). — This  town  is  forty  miles  west  of  Fnrrukhabad,  and 
was  occupied  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Scott  and  his  wife  in  1843.  Here,  as  elsewhere, 
besides  preaching  the  Gospel  in  chapel  and  bazar,  the  education  of  the  youth 
was  commenced,  as  in  schools  the  children  can  be  reached  with  the  Word 
of  God.  Mr.  Scott  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  J.  J.  Walsh  and  his  wife,  and  they 
by  Rev.  J.  E.  Freeman  and  wife,  who  were  afterwards  murdered.  After  the 
mutiny  Mr.  Brodhead  was  stationed  here  until  the  arrival  of  Rev.  B.  D. 
Wyckoff  and  wife.  A  church  was  organized  by  him  which  soon  numbered 
fourteen  members.  He  was  succeeded  by  Rev.  James  M.  Alexander  and  his 
wife,  who  are  still  on  the  ground.  Several  young  ladies  as  Miss  Dickey,  Miss 
Hardie,  and  Mrs.  Miller  have  been  stationed  here. 

Mynpoorie  is  the  center  of  strong  Brahminic  influences,  and  the  missionaries 
at  first  encountered  much  opposition.  This  has  been  steadily  waning.  There 
are  besides  the  high  school  for  boys,  a  Christian  girls'  school  of  15  scholars, 
nine  Hindoo  and  two  Mohammedan  schools  for  girls,  in  which  are  enrolled 
nearly  200  pupils.  The  number  of  communicants  in  the  church  is  42.  There 
are  some  outstations  where  native  laborers  are  employed. 

Etawah,  a  town  of  30,000  inhabitants,  lies  fifty  miles  to  the  south-west  of 
Mynpurie,  and  is  a  place  of  growing  importance.  Work  was  commenced  here 
in  1863  by  Rev.  J.  F.  Ullmann  and  his  wife,  and  soon  marks  of  God's  favor 
were  granted.  A  church  was  organized  with  13  members.  Soon  seven  others 
were  added.  It  now  numbers  31.  There  are  several  outstations  in  connec- 
tion with  Etawah  visited  by  native  agents,  where  the  truth  is  proclaimed. 
Miss  Belz,  a  zenana  missionary,  is  by  her  abundant  labors  accomplishing 
much  good. 

Gzvalior,  the  capitol  of  a  territory  of  the  same  name,  is  in  the  Sindhiya's 
possessions,  which  are  tributary  to  the  British  Power  in  India,  though  nominally 
independent.  The  missionaries  have  for  a  long  time  been  anxious  to  gain  a 
foothold  in  this  territory,  but  were  unable  till  1873,  when  Dr.  Warren  moved 
over  and  commenced  work.  He  finds  the  field  a  hard  one.  The  people  are 
more  illiterate  than  those  in  British  India ;  the  great  mass  can  not  read.  A 
foundation  is  being  laid,  and  to  many  already  has  the  truth  been  proclaimed  ; 
a  church  of  n  members  has  been  organized.  Mrs.  Warren  is  seeking  to  teach 
the  girls,  but  as  yet  few  appreciate  her  labors. 

There  were  other  stations  occupied  by  the  Board  in  this  Mission,  such  as 
Futtehpore  and  Agra.  The  former  was  only  a  short  time  under  the  care  of  a 
foreign  missionary,  and  is  now  regarded  as  an  outstation  of  Allahabad  ;  the  lat- 
ter was  occupied  for  several  years  by  missionaries.  As  two  other  Societies 
were  on  the  ground  it  was  given  up  to  them,  when  a  number  of  Presbyterian 
families  connected  with  the  Government  offices  were  removed  to  Allahabad. 


io  Missions  in  India. 

A  great  preliminary  work  has  been  done  in  the  provinces  covered  by  this 
Mission.  Thousands  of  youth  have  been  trained  in  the  schools  ;  a  large  amount 
of  religious  literature  has  been  circulated  ;  much  preaching  of  the  Word  in  the 
leading  centei-s  of  population  and  in  many  of  the  villages  ;  hundreds  of  zenanas 
have  been  opened,  and  many  of  their  inmates  made  acquainted  with  the  Gos- 
pel of  Christ ;  churches  have  been  established  at  different  points,  and  Moham- 
medan and  Hindoo  brought  into  them  ;  the  kind  ministries  of  the  physician 
have  touched  many  hearts  and  homes — these  and  kindred  blessings  have  been 
vouchsafed  to  the  people,  and  though  the  number  is  yet  small  who  have  come 
out  openly  on  the  side  of  Christ,  the  work  done  has  been  great,  which  will  one 
day  appear  when  the  Spirit  shall  be  poured  out  from  on  high,  and  the  seed 
sown  shall  spring  up  and  wave  everywhere  for  the  reapers. 

LODIANA   MISSION. 

We  have  already  referred  to  the  origin  of  this  Mission  and  to  the  first  station 
that  was  established.  Advancing  north  from  the  Furrukhabad  Mission,  we 
come  first  to 

Roorki. — This  town  lies  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  south-east  of  Lodi- 
ana,  and  is  situated  near  the  head  of  the  great  canal,which  was  built  by  the  Gov- 
ernment for  purposes  of  irrigation  as  well  as  of  commerce.  Pilgrims  coming 
from  the  south,  pass  through  this  place  on  their  way  to  Hardwar.  Rev.  Joseph 
Caldwell  and  his  wife  moved  to  Roorki  from  Saharunpur  in  1856,  and  he  has 
been  the  only  missionary  till  the  present  year,  when  Rev.  J.  S.  Woodside  has 
relieved  him.  A  small  church  was  organized  in  1858;  a  school  was  also  estab- 
lished. From  some  cause  there  have  been  no  large  accessions  to  the  body  of 
believers  from  among  the  heathen. 

Saharunpur  is  twenty  miles  north-west  of  Roorki,  and  one  hundred 
and  thirty  miles  south-east  of  Lodiana.  It  contains  a  population  of  about 
44,000.  This  station  was  occupied  in  1836  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Campbell  and 
Caldwell.  An  Orphanage  was  established,  and  has  been  maintained  from  that 
day  to  this.  The  children  taught  in  it  were  from  the  first  brought  under  relig- 
ious influences,  and  not  a  few  have  professed  their  faith  in  Christ.  Several 
have  been  ordained  as  evangelists  or  pastors,  and  others  have  been  employed 
in  mission-work,  or  in  other  ways  have  earned  a  livelihood.  A  church  was 
organized  in  1845,  an^  to  it  have  been  added  a  number  who  are  living  and 
working  at  some  other  point,  or  who  have  been  called  to  another  world  ;  pres- 
ent membership  is  63.  Rev.  J.  S.  Woodside  joined  this  station  with  his  wife 
in  1848,  and  Rev.  W.  Calderwood  and  his  wife  in  1855.  In  1862  Rev.  Dr. 
Campbell  was  called  to  his  nest,  after  more  than  twenty-six  years'  service  as  a 
foreign  laborer.  Owing  to  their  nearness  to  Hardwar  the  missionaries  at  this 
station  have  spent  almost  annually  a  portion  of  their  time  at  the  famous  mela 
preaching  to  the  pilgrims,  who  are  drawn  from  all  parts  of  India.  Mrs. 
Calderwood  has  been  able  to  establish  a  large  number  of  girls'  schools,  and 


Missions  in  India.  n 

zenana  work  is  carried  on  in  connection  with  them.     Their  influence  is  great 
upon  many  homes. 

Dehra  was  occupied  in  1853  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Woodside.  It  is  situated  in  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  valleys  in  the  world,  lying  within  the  lower  range  of  the 
Himalayas,  and  separated  from  the  plains  by  the  Sewalik  hills.  Mission 
premises  were  secured,  and  purchased  by  funds  contributed  by  friends  of  the 
Mission  in  India.  A  high  school  was  established,  and  in  1859  tne  Christian 
Girls'  Boarding-school  was  commenced  on  the  plan  of  the  Mount  Holyoke 
school,  and  is  intended  to  give  a  good,  thorough  education  to  native  Christian 
girls.  It  already  has  taken  the  foremost  position  as  a  school,  and  the  late  Dr. 
Wilson,  of  Bombay,  said  that  "it  was  a  model  mission  boarding-school,  both 
in  its  methods  and  objects."  Much  of  the  success. of  the  school  in  its  begin- 
ning was  due  to  Mrs.  Herron  and  Miss  Beatty.  There  are  in  the  Institution 
114  pupils.  One  of  the  girls  of  this  school  succeeded  last  year  in  passing  the 
University  examination,  the  first  instance  of  the  kind  in  India.  Eleven  of  the 
girls  have  united  with  the  church  within  a  few  months.  Nine  others  were  also 
received  into  its  communion.  Messrs.  Woodside  and  Herron  have  had  the 
principal  care  of  the  station.  Several  unmarried  ladies  have  been  engaged  in 
the  boarding-school.  Miss  Pratt  and  Miss  Craig  have  been  with  it  for  some 
years. 

Ambala  (Umbala). — This  town  is  seventy -five  miles  north-west  of  Saharun- 
poor  and  fifty-five  miles  south-east  of  Lodiana.  Work  was  begun  at  this  place 
in  1848  by  Rev.  J.  M.  Jamieson,  who  was  joined  the  following  year  by  Rev.  J. 
H.  Morrison.  An  English  and  Persian  school  was  started ;  preaching  in  the 
bazars,  in  chapel,  poor-house,  and  in  other  places  was  sustained  ;  a  church  was 
organized,  which  numbered  thirteen  in  185 1.  On  the  transfer  of  Mr.  Morrison 
to  Lahore,  Mr.  Orbison,  who  had  arrived  in  the  country  in  1850,  came  at  the 
close  of  1852  to  take  his  place.  These  laborers  were  succeeded  by  Messrs. 
Munnis  and  Carleton.  The  latter  has  spent  much  of  his  time  in  itinerant 
work,  and  for  the  last  few  years  he  has  gathered  on  lands  given  by  the  Govern- 
ment in  the  district  of  Kurnal  a  Christian  village.  A  number  of  lepers  have 
been  received  into  the  church  from  the  poor-house.  This  sad  disease  is  by 
no  means  uncommon  in  portions  of  India.  Rev.  R.  Thackwell,  who  first 
joined  the  mission  as  a  teacher,  labored  at  this  station  for  a  time.  It  has  for 
years  past  been  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Dr.  Morrison,  Rev.  G.  S.  Bergen,  and 
Rev.W.  J.  P.  Morrison.  Miss  Julia  M.  Bacon  has  charge  of  a  girls'  school.  The 
Misses  Campbell,  daughters  of  Rev.  Dr.  Campbell,  who  labored  so  long  at 
Saharunpur,  joined  this  station  in  1875.  At  the  Ambala  cantonment  there  is  a 
second  station  where  a  native  minister  is  at  work. 

Lodiana. — This  city  is  five  miles  east  of  the  river  Sutlej,  about  1,100  miles 
north-west  of  Calcutta,  and  some  600  miles  from  Allahabad.  The  reasons  for 
its  selection  as  the  first  station  of  the  Board  have  been  already  mentioned. 
The  population  at  this  time  was  very  heterogeneous — made  up  of  people  not 
only  from  various  parts  of  India,  but  large  numbers  of  Affghans  and   Cash- 


12  Missions  in  India. 

meris ;  and  the  presence  of  these  so  impressed  the  Board  at  home  that  they 
resolved  to  send  out  one  missionary  to  Affghanistan  and  one  to  Cashmere. 
These  missions  have  never  been  established.  With  the  acquisition  of  the  lan- 
guage, the  first  laborers  turned  their  attention  to  the  education  of  youth.  Soon 
a  printing-press  was  in  operation,  and,  as  the  missionaries  were  able,  the  Gos- 
pel was  preached  to  all  that  were  accessible.  On  April  29,  1837,  a  church 
was  organized  and  three  young  men  were  admitted  to  the  communion — one,  a 
Brahmin,  has  been  in  connection  with  the  mission  from  that  day  to  the  present 
as  a  catechist,  and  a  minister  of  the  Gospel — Rev.  Goloknath,  of  Jullundher. 
A  girls'  boarding-school  was  in  time  established,  and  was  kept  up  many  years, 
but  the  children  were  transferred  some  time  ago  to  Dehra.  The  press  has  been 
a  great  power  for  Upper  India.  Religious  works  in  various  languages,  espe- 
cially Hindi,  Hindustani,  Punjabi,  and  Persian,  have  been  constantly  issued,  as 
also  the  sacred  Scriptures  in  these  tongues.  Lodiana  is  identified  with  the 
week  of  prayer,  as  there  it  was  resolved  to  issue  an  address  to  the  Church 
in  Christendom  to  observe  such  a  period  of  time  especially  for  the  heathen 
world. 

The  following  missionaries  besides  those  mentioned  have  been  sent  to  this 
station,  some  of  whom  were  transferred  to  other  points  to  take  charge  of  the 
same  :  Rev.  Levi  Janvier  and  wife,  1842  ;  Rev.  A.  Rudolph  and  wife,  1846  ; 
Rev.  James  H.  Orbison,  1850  ;  Rev.  Alexander  Henry  and  wife,  1864  ;  Rev. 
Joseph  H.  Myers  and  wife,  1865  ;  Rev.  George  S.  Bergen,  1865  ;  Rev.  C.  M. 
Wherry  and  wife,  1867  ;  Rev.  E.  P.  Newton,  1873. 

Sabathu  (Sabatt'hoo). — This  station,  no  miles  east  of  Lodiana,  is  situated 
on  the  lower  elevation  of  the  Himalayas,  4,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea,  and  was  commenced  in  1836  by  Rev.  James  Wilson.  It  was  selected  in 
part  as  a  sanitarium,  and  in  the  hope  of  reaching  the  hill  people.  It  has,  at 
times,  been  without  a  missionary  ;  sometimes  it  has  been  the  home  of  the  in- 
valid, and  at  other  times  it  has  had  an  active  laborer.  Not  much,  in  the  way  of 
actual  results,  has  been  accomplished  among  the  people.  The  church  has 
continued  small.  Latterly  the  station  has  been  under  the  care  of  Rev.  John 
Newton,  M.D.,  and  Mrs.  Janvier.  Dr.  Morrison  bad  charge  of  it  during  Dr. 
Newton's  absence.  The  latter  has  done  a  good  work  in  the  Dispensary.  Mrs. 
Janvier,  after  the  death  of  her  husband  by  violence,  March  24,  1S64,  at  the 
hands  of  a  fanatic,  remained  for  some  time  alone  at  Sabathu  carrying  on  the 
school  and  attending  to  other  duties. 

Crossing  the  Sutlej  we  enter  the  Punjab,  with  its  19,000,000  of  people,  and 
find  four  stations  planted  in  it.  Our  mission  work  began  in  the  north-west 
provinces  with  reference  to  this  field  ;  but  it  was  not  till  after  its  annexation  in 
1849  that  the  way  was  open.  The  ruler  who  would  have  no  herald  of  salva- 
tion had  passed  away.  The  country  was  in  a  distracted  state  ;  a  portion, 
previous  to  the  utter  prostration  of  Sikh  power,  was  annexed  to  British  terri- 
tory, but  when  the  army  was  conquered,  and  the  whole  province  incorporated 
into  the  possession  of  the  conqueror,  then  the  mission  was  prepared  to  com- 


Missions  in  India.  13 

mence  operations.  Some  of  the  laborers  had  been  studying  the  Gurmukhi 
language,  which  is  spoken  by  the  Sikhs.  Mr.  Newton  had  prepared  a  diction- 
ary ;  besides  this,  a  grammar,  numbers  of  tracts,  and,  to  some  extent,  a  trans- 
lation of  the  Scriptures  were  ready,  and  were  at  once  brought  into  use. 

jalandhdr  (Jullundhur)  was  the  first  station  established  in  the  Punjab  in  1852 
after  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  British.  It  is  thirty  miles  north-west  of  Lodi- 
ana.  Rev.  Golok  Nath,  already  referred  to  as  received  into  the  church  at 
Lodiana,  was  stationed  here,  and  has  continued  to  labor  from  that  time  to  this. 
He  has  been  enabled  to  scatter  much  seed,  and  to  do  an  important  work  in  the 
section  traversed  by  him.  Some  interesting  converts  have  been  brought  into 
the  church,  and  in  the  school  many  young  men  have  been  taught  the  doctrines 
of  Christianity. 

Laliore. — This  political  capital  of  the  Punjab  was  visited  in  1849  by  Rev. 
Messrs.  Newton  and  Forman.  The  latter  had  arrived  in  the  country  the 
previous  year.  The  city  and  surrounding  region  was  in  an  unsettled  condition, 
so  that  missionaries  were  requested  by  the  authorities  to  abstain  for  a  time  from 
publicly  preaching  the  Gospel.  A  school  was  begun  in  the  missionary's  house 
with  three  pupils  ;  others  were  soon  added,  until  at  one  time  the  main  school, 
with  its  branches,  contained  1,600  children.  Twice  the  school  has  nearly  been 
broken  up  ;  once  by  admitting  boys  of  low  caste,  and  next  by  the  baptism  of  three 
of  the  pupils.  This  institution  has  been  a  power  for  the  overthrow  of  error 
and  for  acquainting  all  connected  with  it  with  Christianity.  Girls'  schools  have 
also  been  carried  on  for  years,  and  many  zenanas  are  open  to  the  visitor.  To 
the  church  six  were  added  the  past  year.  The  number  of  boys  enrolled  in  the 
schools  is  1,492.  A  beginning  has  been  made  in  a  boarding-school  for  Christian 
boys,  with  the  same  object  in  view  as  the  girls'  school  at  Dehra. 

Rev.  Charles  B.  .Newton  joined  this  station  in  1867,  and  Rev.  Francis  J. 
Newton  in  187 1.     Other  laborers  are"  Miss  J.  A.  Nelson  and  Miss  C.  Thiede. 

Hoshyai'pore  lies  north  of  Lodiana  some  forty  miles,  and  has  been  occupied, 
since  its  selection  as  a  station  in  1869,  by  Rev.  K.  C.  Chatterjee.  Here  he 
has  been  enabled  not  only  to  organize  a  church  and  schools,  but  has  been  in- 
strumental in  beginning  an  encouraging  work  at  Ghorawaha,  and  preaching  at 
different  points.  Three  years  ago  several  Mohammedans  at  G were  bap- 
tized, and  a  neat  church  has  been  lately  erected  in  a  pure  oriental  style.  When 
the  church  was  dedicated,  forty-five  native  Christians  from  Lahore,  Umritsur 
and  Hoshyarpore,  were  present,  besides  numerous  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans. 
"  It  was  a  great  day  for  the  little  village,  and  will  be  long  remembered  by  its 
people."  it  is  expected  that  a  native  pastor  will  soon  settle  at  this  place.  In 
Hoshyarpore  a  native  Christian  woman  is  doing  a  good  work  as  a  zenana 
visitor.  The  girls'  school,  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Chatterjee,  wife  of  the  native 
evangelist,  has  fifty-two  pupils.  This  is  the  only  institution  of  its  kind  in  the 
whole  district,  containing  a  population  of  938,890. 

Rawal  Pindi. — This  is  the  most  distant  station  of  the  Board,  and  is  160  miles 
north  of  Lahore.      It  was  occupied  by  Dr.  Morrison  in  1855  amidst  vigorous 


14  Missions  in  India. 

opposition  on  the  part  of  the  people.  The  funds  needed  at  first  for  the  support 
of  the  school,  and  for  the  erection  of  a  school-building,  were  generously  given 
by  European  friends  in  India.  A  mission  church  was  reared  and  completed  in 
1875,  at  a  cost  of  $4,000  ;  the  whole  of  this  sum  was  given  by  friends  in  the 
country.  Mr.  Orbison  and  wife  labored  here  from  i860  until  his  return  home 
on  a  visit,  when  he  was  suddenly  cut  down.  Rev.  E.  M.  Wherry  had  charge 
of  the  station  for  some  time,  when  he  was  transferred  to  Lodiana,  and  since  that 
it  has  been  under  the  care  of  Rev.  R.  Thackwell  and  Rev.  A.  P.  Kelso.  The 
church  is  steadily  increasing  in  numbers  ;  it  has  now  thirty-nine  on  the  com- 
munion roll.  Here,  as  at  most  of  the  stations,  an  English  service  is  held  on 
the  Sabbath  for  those  who  are  in  India  from  Christian  lands,  and  who  have  no 
one  to  minister  to  them,  or  who  will  not  attend  upon  the  services  where  chap- 
lains are  located.  These  need  the  Gospel,  and  their  lives,  if  immoral,  may 
prove  a  stumbling-block  to  the  heathen. 

At  this  station  there  is  a  steady  increase  in  numbers  in  both  the  schools  for 
boys  and  girls.  The  amount  realized  for  fees  during  the  year  was  $500.  This 
is  a  step  in  advance  ;  when  schools  were  first  started  in  India  children  had  to 
be  paid  for  coming ;  now  they  have  to  pay  in  our  principal  schools. 

Reference  has  been  made  to  the  wish  of  the  Board,  in  its  early  history,  to 
commence  a  mission  among  the  Affghans.  This  was  never  carried  into  exe- 
cution. Afghanistan  is  still  inaccessible  to  evangelistic  work.  The  people 
are  treacherous  and  bigoted  Mohammedans,  and  will  tolerate  no  Christian  mis- 
sionary in  their  country.  No  Moslem  could  with  safety  abjure  his  religion.  It 
had  been  the  desire  of  the  missionaries  as  soon  as  possible  to  begin  a  work  for 
this  people.  In  1857,  R-ev-  I-  Loewenthal  moved  to  Peshawar,  on  the  borders 
of  that  country,  and  commenced  the  study  of  the  Pushtu.  This  is  a  difficult 
language,  but  the  missionary  soon  mastered  it,  and  also,  other  languages  of 
India  ;  but  he  was  cut  off  by  violence  fa  1864.  Though  only  seven  years  in 
the  country,  he  had  translated  the  New  Testament  in  Pushtu,  and  had  nearly 
completed  a  dictionary  of  that  language.  Besides  his  devotion  to  this  form  of 
labor,  he  gave  a  portion  of  his  time  to  preaching  in  the  bazars,  and  in  different 
places  in  the  district.  This  station,  for  reasons,  has  not  been  resumed  since  his 
death.  The  Church  Missionary  Society  has  occupied  it,  and  a  church  of  over 
80  members  has  been  gathered,  composed  chiefly  of  Mohammedans. 

Kapurthala  was  occupied  for  some  years  by  Rev.  J.  S.  Woodside,  who  was 
invited  to  begin  labor  there  by  the  Rajah,  who  seemed  to  be  interested  in 
Christianity.  He  gave  liberally  to  the  support  of  the  missionary  and  his  work, 
and  this  continued  for  some  time  ;  but  for  some  cause  he  withdrew  his  support, 
so  that  the  missionary  returned  to  Dehra.  One  of  his  sons  has  been  baptized 
at  Talandhar,  but  his  son  and  successor  has  not  manifested  that  interest  in 
Christianity  that  was  expected. 

KOLAPOOR    MISSION. 

The  territory  occupied  by  this  Mission  lies  south-wrcst  of  Bombay,  and  covers 
part  of  the  Deccan.     The  Ghats,  a  range  of  mountains  some  forty  or  fifty 


Missions  in  India.  15 

miles  from  the  coast,  cut  the  field  into  two.  The  Kolapoor  State  lies  east  of 
this  range,  and  has  a  population  of  802,691.  The  adjoining  districts  to  this,  in 
which  are  no  missionaries,  have  a  population  of  1,700,000;  add  to  this  the 
Concan,  or  the  portion  between  the  Ghats  and  the  sea,  and  in  which  is  Ratna- 
giri,  and  there  is  a  population  nearly  as  great,  or  a  total  of  5,000,000  who  are 
to  be  reached  with  the  truth. 

Kolapoor  is  the  capital  of  a  province  of  the  same  name.  This  city  was  selected 
by  Rev.  R.  G.  Wilder  in  1853,  as  a  center  of  missionary  operations.  His  work 
had  been  supported  for  years  by  friends  in  the  United  States  and  in  India,  and 
it  was  independent  of  any  Church  until  its  transfer  to  the  Board  in  1870.  Mr. 
Wilder  had  been  privileged  to  do  a  good  preparatory  work,  and  to  organize  a 
church  which  consisted  of  twenty-one  members.  Rev.  G.  W.  Seiler  sailed  for 
this  station  in  1870.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  W.  P.  Barker  and  wife ;  Rev. 
J.  J.  Hall  and  Rev.  J.  P.  Graham  and  his  wife  in  1872,  by  Rev.  J.  Goheen 
and  his  wife  in  1875,  and  Miss  A.  McGinnis  in  1876.  Mr.  Wilder  was  obliged 
to  return  to  this  country  on  account  of  ill  health  in  1875,  ar]d  the  Rev.  W.  P. 
Barker  for  the  same  reason  a  few  months  afterwards. 

The  same  agencies  employed  in  Northern  India  are  in  operation  in  this 
Mission  for  making  known  unto  others  the  story  of  redeeming  love.  The 
schools,  the  circulation  of  books  and  tracts,  and  the  proclamation  of  the 
truth  in  chapel  and  on  the  highway,  have  the  same  object  in  view  to 
reach  the  hearts  and  bring  them  into  sympathy  with  Christ.  The  native  church 
is  prospering,  and  now  numbers  forty-two.  Seven  adults  were  baptized  during 
the  year.  Not  one  of  these  has  received  any  pecuniary  help ;  all  are  living  in 
their  villages,  and  pursuing  their  usual  vocations.  "Two  of  the  converts  with 
their  wives,  and  the  little  child  of  one  were,  on  their  return  to  their  village,  re- 
fused admission  to  their  father's  house  and  compelled  to  live  for  some  time 
under  a  neighboring  tree,  their  neighbors  meanwhile  reminding  them  that 
*  while  our  gods  give  us  houses  to  dwell  in,  yours  sends  you  to  live  under  the 
shadow  of  a  tree.'  Before  the  year  closed,  however,  we  had  the  privilege  of 
baptizing  nearly  every  member  of  the  family." 

The  station  at  Ratnagiri,  on  the  coast,  is  under  the  care  of  Rev.  G.  W. 
Seiler.  Day-schools  for  boys  have  200  on  the  roll,  and  40  are  in  the  girls' 
schools.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Graham  are  at  Panalla,  a  few  miles  from  Kolapoor, 
where  the  prospects  for  future  good  are  encouraging.  As  yet  no  church  is 
organized  in  these  two  stations. 

All  the  reports  from  the  different  stations  for  the  past  year  have  not  been 
received.  According  to  the  report  of  the  previous  year  there  were  20  churches, 
769  communicants,  and  7,910  scholars  in  the  different  schools. 

In  this  brief  resume,  of  missionary  operations,  we  have  been  able  to  touch 
only  some  salient  points,  and  present  simply  an  outline  of  things  done.  Much 
has  been  overlooked.  There  have  been  some  marked  cases  of  conversion  and 
loyalty  to  Jesus,  and  some  noble  acts  of  heroism  and  self-denial.  There  have 
been  many  lives  laid  down  for  the  good  of  the  people.     Besides  those  who 


1 6  Missions  in  India. 

died  at  their  posts,  ten  missionaries  have  been  cut  off  by  violence — eight 
during  the  mutiny  and  two  afterwards.  In  no  country  has  there  been  such  a 
vast  work  of  preparation  done  through  preaching,  education,  and  the  press; 
in  no  heathen  land  are  the  people  in  the  mass  so  thoroughly  acquainted  with 
the  doctrines  and  principles  of  Christianity  ;  in  no  nation  lias  education  done 
so  much  to  shake  confidence  in  their  own  systems  of  error,  or  to  lead  the 
youth  to  reject  them,  and  nowhere  are  the  agencies  so  numerous  to  affect  the 
population  for  good  and  to  meliorate  their  condition.  All  that  has  been  ac- 
complished in  these  different  ways  has  been  largely  destructive — to  throw 
down  in  order  to  build  up.  There  has  been  as  yet  no  great  upheaval  of  the 
masses,  no  general  movement,  and  no  large  communities  turning  to  the  truth  ; 
-all  this  will  come,  and  when  there  is  such  a  movement,  from  the  very  nature 
of  society,  from  social  life  and  usages,  and  from  modes  of  thought  and  action, 
it  will  be  strong  and  decided.  The  language  of  the  people  when  acknowledg- 
ing the  force  of  truth  and  the  necessity  of  coming  out  publicly  for  Christ,  is 
11  Wait  I  Wait  until  we  can  all  come."  Caste,  the  sacrifices  to  be  made  on  leav- 
ing their  religion,  the  difficulty  in  procuring  a  livelihood,  with  other  things,  have 
made  many  secret  Christians.  They  are  Christ's,  but  have  not  moral  courage 
to  be  baptized.  Baptism  severs  all  family  bonds,  disrupts  all  relations,  and  makes 
its  recipient  an  outcast.  Men  may  give  up  idolatrous  practices,  ridicule  the 
gods,  worship  Jesus,  and  be  safe  if  they  will  not  be  baptized.  The  commun- 
ion-roll is,  therefore,  no  criterion  of  what  missions  have  accomplished.  Their 
influence  is  everywhere  felt.  The  changes  going  on  and  the  advances  made 
are  in  the  right  direction.  The  blessing  will  come  when  the  Church  is  ready 
to  receive  it,  and  when  that  land  has  been  prepared  for  it. 


IZ. 


SKETCH  OF  INDIA. 

/ 

BY   REV.   A.   BRODHEAD,   D.D. 


SKETCH   OF    INDIA. 


BY    REV.    A.    BRODHEAD,    D.D. 


Within  the  six  months  just  past,  the  attention  of  the  political  world  has 
been  drawn  to  India.  For  a  time  it  seemed  probable  that  history  would 
repeat  itself  in  a  fierce  struggle  between  England,  operating  largely  through 
the  armies  of  the  Indian  Empire  and  the  warlike  Afghans,  whose  territory 
lies  on  the  north-western  border  of  India.  However  long  or  short  the  con- 
flict may  be,  and  interesting  and  important  as  will  be  its  results,  still,  to  the 
minds  of  Christians  its  interest  and  importance  are  exceeded  by  events  which 
are  transpiring  in  the  southern  part  of  the  Empire.  Here  history  is  not 
repeating  itself,  but  is  recording,  in  terms  which  it  has  never  before  been 
privileged  to  use,  the  conversion  to  Christianity  of  tens  of  thousands  of  those 
who  hitherto  have  been  the  slaves  of  superstition  and  idolatry. 

Great  as  have  been  the  triumphs  of  the  Cross  in  Southern  India,  upon 
hearing  which  the  people  of  God  could  say,  "Then  was  our  mouth  rilled  with 
laughter,  and  our  tongue  with  singing,"  we  can  not  lose  sight  of  the  fact  that, 
through  these  successes,  the  two  strongholds  of  Satan  in  the  Indian  Empire, 
Brahminism  and  Mohammedanism  have  scarcely  been  touched.  The  acces- 
sions to  the  Christian  Church  in  India,  during  the  past  year,  were  largely  from 
a  class  outside  of  these  charmed  circles.  They  were  mostly  from  among  those 
whom  the  Saviour,  were  He  on  the  earth,  would  receive  as  gladly  as  He  did 
the  "  publicans  and  sinners,"  but  from  whom  the  proud  Brahmins  and  the 
other  castes  shrink,  as  from  some  loathsome  thing. 

WHAT    IS    BRAHMINISM  ? 

To  the  eye  of  the  casual  observer,  Brahminism  is  the  religious  idea  ex- 
pressed in  a  Polytheistic  form.  In  it  Deity  is  incarnated  in  various  forms  of 
man  or  beast,  or  represented  by  inanimate  objects,  until,  as  the  natural  result 
of  this  fearful  departure  from  God,  the  original  conception  is  lost  sight  of, 
and  the  symbol  takes  the  place  of  that  for  which  it  stands.  Rom.  i.  21-25. 
The  Avatars,  or  incarnations,  of  the  Supreme  Being  are  few  in  number,  but 
nature  is  ransacked  to  find  a  sufficient  number  of  objects  in  which  He  may 
be  enshrined ;  and  three  hundred  and  thirty-three  millions  of  inferior  deities 
find  place  in  the  imaginary  Pantheon  of  the  Hindoos.  The  river  Ganges  is 
the  goddess  Gunga,  born  on  the  snow-capped  ranges  of  the  Himalayas,  from 
the  forehead  of  Brahm,  as  Minerva  from  the  head  of  Jupiter.     At  Allahabad, 


this  river,  receiving  to  its  embrace  the  scarcely  less  sacred  Jumna,  is  joined 
also  by  a  third  stream,  descending  directly  from  heaven,  and  thus  a  Trinity 
of  streams  is  formed,  which,  to  the  devout  Hindoo,  is  the  very  portal  to  the 
skies.  But  not  the  rivers  alone — the  trees,  the  fountains,  a  rock,  a  stone,  is 
made  sacred  by  the  indwelling  of  some  divinity.  There  is  a  certain  tree,  the 
trunk  of  which  is  a  god,  while  each  branch,  twig,  and  leaf  represents  an  in- 
ferior deity. 

But  all  this  for  one  class  of  minds.  The  Hindoo  religion  adapts  itself  readily 
to  all  classes.  It  is,  indeed,  a  vagary  of  the  imagination,  rather  than  a 
religion  of  the  heart.  Thus,  whilst  it  is,  with  some,  a  pure  polytheism,  as 
held  by  others  it  is  sheer  pantheism.  The  writer  once  asked  a  Hindoo  : 
"  Parmeshwar  kalian  hai  ?  "  Where  is  God  ?  The  reply  was  made  promptly  : 
11  A'p  Parmeshwar  haiu."  Your  Honor  is  God.  But  one  need  not  be  flattered 
by  such  distinction,  for  to  the  Pantheist  God  is  inseparable  from  His  creation. 
He  is  "without  a  Second."  Besides  Him  there  is  nothing.  The  presence 
of  sin  is  thus  accounted  for  :  through  its  connection  with  the  flesh,  the  soul, 
a  spark  struck  from  the  original  source  of  life  and  light,  has  become  con- 
taminated, and  its  lustre  has  grown  dim.  In  successive  births  these  accretions 
of  sin  will  be  removed,  till  at  the  last  the  soul,  regaining  its  original  purity, 
will  be  absorbed  into  the  infinite. 

And  then  all  this  religious  ©imposture  was,  by  the  same  hands  that  con- 
structed it,  interwoven  into  the  social  system  of  the  Hindoos,  and  so  skillfully 
was  the  work  performed  that  it  would  seem  impossible,  but  by  the  grace  of 
God,  for  those  who  are  born  within  the  meshes  of  this  net,  ever  to  escape. 
Never  was  more  consummate  wisdom  displayed  by  men  than  was  shown  by 
the  Hindoo  priests  of  a  pre-historic  age,  when  they  perfected  a  system  which 
should  at  once  secure  its  own  perpetuation,  and  the  supremacy,  social  and 
religious,  of  its  founders.  The  web  was  indeed  artfully  woven.  Caste  is  a 
social  system,  strengthened  and  guarded  by  religious  sanctions,  or  if  you 
please  so  to  define  it,  it  is  a  religious  system,  guarded  by  social  sanctions. 
The  Brahmin,  its  originator,  is  the  center  and  circumference  of  this  system. 
With  reference  to  it,  he  formed  all  things,  and  by  him  do  all  things  consist. 
He  sprung  from  the  head  of  Brahm,  and  unites  in  himself  all  the  attributes  of 
him  who  is  without  form,  all-wise  and  all-powerful.  In  the  Brahmin's  hands 
are  the  destinies  of  men.  His  blessing  gives  wealth,  or  offspring,  or  pros- 
perity ;  his  curse  destroys.  He  stands  upon  the  top  of  the  social  and  religious 
pyramid.  Beneath  him  are  the  Kshetriyas,  the  warrior  caste,  springing  from 
the  breast  of  Brahm  ;  and  the  Vaisyas,  or  merchant  class,  descending  from  his 
loins,  and  the  Sudras,  or  laboring  class,  issuing  from  his  feet.  And  during  all 
these  centuries  these  castes  have  held  the  same  relative  position,  immorality 
or  crime,  however  black,  causing  no  descent  from  the  higher  to  the  lower  ; 
virtue,  however  conspicuous,  securing  no  ascent  from  the  lower  to  the  higher. 


WHAT    IS    MOHAMMEDANISM  ? 

The  creed  of  Islam  is  very  simple.  There  is  one  God,  and  Mohammed  is  his 
apostle.  The  religion  of  the  followers  of  Mohammed  begins,  and  very  often 
ends  with  this.  It  is  a  religion  without  a  Saviour.  The  most  that  its  adherents 
have  to  hope  for  is,  that  Mohammed  will  intercede  for  them,  but  their  intercessor 
did  not  claim  to  be  without  sin,  much  less  did  he  claim  to  be  divine.  When 
it  is  stated  that  the  Mohammedan  conception  of  God  is  purer  than  that  of  the 
Hindoo,  all  has  been  said  that  can  be  in  favor  of  his  religion,  as  compared  with 
the  idolatrous  religion  which  it  antagonizes.  While  the  Koran  is  for  the  Moham- 
medans of  India,  The  Book,  still  there  are  many  and  grave  departures  from  its 
teachings,  found  in  the  practice  of  the  followers  of  the  prophet.  If  they  have 
to  some  extent  acted  upon  the  idolatrous  religion  around  them,  at  least  on  its 
social  side,  they  have  at  the  same  time  been  reacted  upon,  by  being  led  to 
engage  in  various  idolatrous  practices. 

A  feature  which  characterizes  both  these  religions  is  the  elasticity  of  which 
they  are  capable.  TheTiindoo  religion,  within  the  caste  lines,  which  are  de- 
termined by  birth,  has  a  charity  broad  enough  to  admit  every  form  of  belief 
or  disbelief;  in  other  words,  being  born  a  Hindoo,  and  conforming  to  its  ritual, 
you  may  believe  what  you  choose.  This  being  the  case,  the  writer  was  not 
greatly  surprised  to  find  the  name  of  Christ  written  interchangeably  with  that 
of  Rama  upon  the  walls  of  a  Hindoo  temple.  And  thus  with  the  religion  of 
Af  Islam,  only  repeat  the  ftalama,  and  it  matters  not  what  you  believe  or  what 
you  are.  It  is  not  strange  that  religions  so  insensible  to  the  moral  quality  of 
their  adherents,  and  which,  while  satisfying  the  demands  of  a  depraved  con- 
science, require  no  crucifixion  of  the  heart's  lusts,  should  have  a  fascination 
for  their  followers  most  difficult  to  overcome. 

OUR    MISSION    FIELD    IN    INDIA. 

The  battle  between  these  allied  forces,  Brahminism  and  Islam,  allied  in 
their  opposition  to  Christianity  (Luke  xxiii.  12),  is  to  be  fought  on  the  plains 
of  Northern  India.  It  was  in  this  part  of  India  that  the  Brahminical  power 
had  its  rise,  and  here  the  power  of  the  followers  of  Mohammed  was  first  made 
known  in  India  by  conquest.  Mathura  and  Binderabun,  the  scenes  of 
Krishna's  exploits,  are  still  visited  by  millions  of  the  devout  worshipers  of 
this  avatar  of  Vishnu.  Pryag  (Allahabad)  and  Kashi  (Benares)  retain  all  the 
sanctity  of  by-gone  ages,  so  that  at  the  time  this  paper  is  being  written,  hun- 
dreds of  thousands  of  deluded  men  and  women  are  gathering  at  the  former 
place  to  wash  away  their  sins  in  the  Ganges,  and  at  the  latter  city  the  dismal 
scene  is  constantly  re-enacted,  of  aged  parents  being  brought  to  the  banks  of 
the  same  sacred  stream  and  left  there  to  die,  that  they  may  have  quick  trans- 
mission to  the  abodes  of  the  blessed. 

If  the  Hindoos  retain  their  love  and  veneration  for  the  fabled  prowess  of 
their  gods,  not  less  do  the  followers  of  the  prophet  turn  with  sorrowful  pride 


to  Agra,  Delhi,  Lucknow,  and  other  cities,  the  former  capitals,  where  their 
emperors  ruled  in  splendor,  but  where  now  there  is  little  else  of  which  the 
Mohammedans  can  boast  than  the  tombs  of  their  sovereigns. 

It  is  among  the  fifty  millions  of  Hindoos,  and  eight  millions  of  Mohamme- 
dans of  the  North-west  Provinces  and  the  Punjab  that  two  of  the  missions  of 
our  Board,  Lodiana  and  Furrukhabad,  are  situated,  while  the  third,  the 
Kolapoor  mission,  has  its  field  among  the  millions  of  Southwestern  India. 
Side  by  side  with  our  missions  in  Northern  India  there  are  others,  with 
representatives  from  England,  Germany,  and  America.  Among  these  sister 
organizations  the  Church  Mission  holds  a  prominent  place,  while,  on  the  one 
side,  in  Oudh  and  Rohilkand,  the  American  Methodist  Mission,  and  on  the 
other,  in  Rajputana,  the  mission  of  the  Scotch  United  Presbyterian  Church 
are  doing  a  great  work  for  the  Master. 

THE    STATIONS    OCCUPIED. 

Those  in  Northern  India  extend  from  Allahabad,  the  capital  of  the  North- 
west Provinces,  to  Rawal  Pindi,  well  up  toward  the  borders  of  Afghanistan. 
In  the  Kolapoor  mission,  one  station,  Ratnagiri,  is  on  the  coast,  the  others 
more  in  the  interior.     The  stations  are  as  follows  : 

Lodiana  Mission. 

Rawal  Pindi:  160  miles  north-west  of  Lahore  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1855. 

Lahore  :  the  political  capital  of  the  Punjab,  1,225  miles  north-west  of  Calcutta ;  Mission 
station  commenced,  1819. 

Hoshyarpore  :  45  miles  N.  of  Lodiana  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1867. 

Jalandar  :  120  miles  east  of  Lahore,  30  miles  west  of  Lodiana  ;  Mission  station  commenced, 
1846. 

Lodiana:  near  the  river  Sutlej,  1,100  miles  north-west  of  Calcutta;  Mission  station  com- 
menced, 1834. 

Ambaxa  :  55  miles  south-east  of  Lodiana  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1848. 

Sabathu  :  in  the  lower  Himalaya  Mountains,  110  miles  east  of  Lodiana  ;  Mission  station 
commenced,  1836. 

Saharanpur  :  130  miles  south-east  of  Lodiana  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1836. 

Dehra  :  47  miles  east  of  Saharanpur  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1853. 

Roorkhee  :  20  miles  south-cast  of  Saharanpur  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1856. 

Furrukhabad   Mission. 

Futtehgurh  :  on  the  Ganges,  723  miles  north-west  of  Calcutta ;  Mission  station  com- 
menced, 1838. 

Furrukhabad  :  near  to  Futtehgurh  ;  mission  station  commenced,  1843. 

Mynpurie  :  40  miles  west  of  Futtehgurh  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1843. 

Etawah  :  ou  the  Jumna,  50  miles  south-west  of  Mynpurie;  Mission  station  commenced, 
1863. 

Futtehpoke  :  587  miles  north-west  of  Calcutta  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1853. 

Allahabad:  at  the  junction  of  the  Ganges  and  the  Jumna,  506  miles  north-west  of  Cal- 
cutta; Mission  station  commenced,  L836. 

(Iwalior:  Mission  station  commenced,  1873. 

Kolapoor  Mission. 

Kolapoor:  south-east  of  Bombay  ;  Mission  station  commenced,  1853  ;  taken  under  the  care 
of  the  Board,  1870. 

Ratnagiri  :  70  miles  north-west  of  Kolapoor  ;  Mission  station  commenced  in  1873. 

Panalla  :  Mission  station  commenced,  1877. 


THE    AGENCIES    EMPLOYED. 

These  may  be  classified  as  follows  :  Preaching,  Schools,  Instruction  of 
Theological  Students,  Zenana  Visiting,  Medical  Work,  the  Press. 

Preaching. 
This  includes — i.  Stated  Sabbath  and  week-day  services.      2.  Bazar  preach- 
ing; and,  3.  Preaching  in  the  villages. 

1.  The  orderly  congregations  gathered  on  the  Sabbath  at  the  several  sta- 
tions, present  a  marked  contrast  to  the  crowds  of  Hindoos  pressing  into  the 
temples,  and  sometimes  endangering  life  by  their  frantic  efforts  to  cast  offer- 
ings upon  the  idol,  or  to  touch  the  bell  suspended  above  his  head.  At  several 
of  the  stations,  as,  for  instance,  Allahabad,  Futtehpore,  Futtehgurh,  and 
Saharanpore,  neat  and  spacious  churches  have  already  been  erected,  while  at 
the  other  stations  the  commodious  school-houses  form  convenient  centers  at 
which  to  gather  the  native  Christian  congregations.  Several  of  these  are 
ministered  to  by  native  pastors.  The  missionaries,  without  exception,  aim  at 
securing  self  supporting  churches  and  an  indigenous  pastorate. 

2.  Preaching  in  the  bazars  is  an  important  complement  to  the  stated 
preaching  in  the  churches,  since  it  is  only  in  this  way  that  the  masses  in  the 
towns  and  cities  can  be  reached.  There  is  much  difference  of  opinion  among 
the  missionaries  as  to  the  value  of  this  agency  ;  its  results,  certainly,  are  not 
nearly  as  satisfactory  as  could  be  wished.  This  will  be  readily  understood, 
when  the  fluctuating  character  of  the  audiences  is  considered,  with  the  oppor- 
tunity afforded  to  those  of  "the  baser  sort"  to  harass  the  speaker,  and  the 
constant  uproar  in  the  streets  of  a  large  city.  And  yet  necessity  seems  laid 
upon  the  heralds  of  the  Gospel  to  use  this  means,  not  only  by  the  direct  com- 
mand of  our  Lord,  which  by  no  fair  reasoning  can  be  relegated  to  the  times 
of  the  apostles  alone,  but  by  the  palpable  fact,  that  if  the  thousands  who 
catch  some  sound  of  the  Gospel  message  in  the  streets  and  by-ways  do  not 
learn  of  Christ  in  this  way,  they  will  pass  away  without  ever  hearing  of  the 
Saviour. 

3.  Village  preaching  is  free  from  many  of  the  annoyances  and  dispiriting 
circumstances  connected  with  preaching  in  the  bazar.  Itinerations  made  in 
various  directions  from  the  central  station,  enable  the  missionary,  with  the 
catechists  and  Scripture  readers,  to  reach  large  numbers  of  villages  in  which 
is  found  a  simple,  more  unsophisticated  class  of  hearers,  among  which  the 
Mohammedan  element,  always  a  troublesome  one,  is  smaller,  and  to  which 
the  message  may  be  proclaimed  with  fewer  interruptions.  The  writer  recalls 
one  itineration  of  this  kind  where  five  hundred  villages  were  reached  in  a 
single  tour. 

Schools. 
These  are  employed  in  all  their  grades,  from  the  infant  school,  where  the 
boys   and   girls  first   learn  the  alif,  be,  to  the  Anglo-vernacular  school,  where 


students  are  prepared  for  the  entrance  examination  to  the  university.  And 
let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  that  in  every  school  connected  with  our  missions,  the 
Bible  has  the  first  place.  Our  missionaries  hold  as  an  axiom,  that  unless  the 
schools  can  be  used  as  evangelizing  agencies,  they  have  no  place  in  mission 
work.  Of  their  value  there  can  be  no  question.  There  may  have  been  few 
conversions  among  the  pupils  taught,  but  no  one  has  gone  forth  from  these 
schools  without  new  ideas  of  God  ;  an  awakened  sense  of  his  condition  as  a 
sinner,  and  some  acquaintance  with  the  way  of  life  through  faith  in  Christ. 

Theological  Classes. 

The  missionaries  have  felt  the  need  of  instructing  the  catechists  and  Script- 
ure readers  under  their  care,  and,  when  possible,  have  furnished  such  instruc- 
tion. But  very  frequently  other  duties  have  prevented  this.  An  attempt  was 
made,  a  few  years  since,  to  relieve  the  missionaries  at  the  several  stations  from 
this  work,  by  assigning  it  to  three  of  their  number,  who,  in  conjunction  with 
one  of  the  native  pastors,  gave  instruction  to  an  interesting  class.  The  Synod 
of  India,  at  its  last  meeting,  made  an  effort  to  revive  the  Theological  School, 
which  had  been  temporarily  closed,  but  owing  to  the  weak  state  of  the  mission 
force  nothing  could  be  done. 

Zenana    Visiting. 

It  is  only  a  few  years  ago  that  the  houses  of  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans  in 
Northern  India  were  opened  to  Christian  women,  that  they  might  give  instruc- 
tion to  the  females  of  the  households.  The  tide  of  progress  having  advanced 
thus  far,  it  can  never  recede.  Now  zenana  visiting  is  carried  on  at  all  of  our 
stations.  For  a  girl  or  woman  not  to  learn  to  read  is  becoming  the  exception 
rather  than  the  rule.  This  work,  begun  in  Southern  India  and  Bengal,  has 
spread  all  over  India.  Such  a  revolution  was  not  accomplished  without 
untiring  effort  on  the  part  of  the  ladies  of  the  missions.  At  first  there  was 
indifference,  sometimes  refusal,  but  by  degrees  love,  and  perhaps  in  some 
cases  self-interest,  conquered  prejudice,  and  the  visitor,  from  being  almost  a 
suppliant  at  the  doors  of  the  zenana,  was  sought  for.  At  some  stations  ad- 
mission is  more  freely  obtained  to  the  houses  of  Hindoos,  at  others  to  those 
of  Mohammedans.  Wherever  the  visitor  goes,  the  Bible  goes  ;  the  way  of 
salvation  is  explained,  ignorance  is  enlightened,  prejudices  are  set  aside,  the 
errors  of  false  religions  are  exposed,  the  patience  and  gentleness  born  of  the 
religion  of  Christ  are  exhibited,  and  they  who  have  but  little  happiness  in  this 
world,  and  no  hope  for  the  life  to  come,  are  drawn  to  the  Saviour  by  the  cords 
of  love. 

Medical  Work, 

This  agency  has  not  been  introduced  into  our  missions  to  any  large  extent. 
At  Allahabad,  a  lady  medical  missionary  has  a  growing  practice  among  the 
women  of  the  city  and  the  surrounding  country,  giving  her  an  opportunity, 
while  she  ministers  to  the  diseased  bodies  of  those   who,  except   for  her  kind 


7 

skill,  would  have  but  little  help,  to  speak  the  word  that  may  quicken  in  many 
a  heart.  At  Sabathu  one  of  the  missionaries  devotes  much  time  and  care  to 
a  large  number  of  lepers  gathered  in  an  asylum  there,  and  if  anywhere  the 
religion  of  Christ  finds  happy  exemplification,  it  is  in  such  a  place  as  this. 

The  Press. 
This  is  one  of  the   earlier   agencies   used   by  our   missions,  and  one  that  is 
more  and  more  productive  of  good.      In  a  late  work  on  Missions  in  India,  the 
author  gives  to  the  missions  of  our  Board  the  credit  of  doing  more  than  any 
other  mission  in  the  way  of  creating  a  Christian  literature.     Too  much  space 
would    be    occupied   in   enumerating    all    that    has    been    accomplished    in 
this   direction.      In    a    general    way   it    may   be   stated,   that   Commentaries 
have  been  written  on  Genesis,  the  Psalms,  Isaiah,  Haggai,  the  Four  Gospels, 
Ephesians,  and  Colossians  ;   a  work  on  Theology  was  begun,  and  remains  un- 
finished owing  to  the  death  of  the  author ;   a   Hindi  Grammar  has   been   pre- 
pared,  as  also   a   Hebrew   Grammar,   and   other  works,  to  assist  theological 
students ;   translations  of  various  standard  works  have  been  made,  and  large 
numbers  of  tracts  composed  and  translated,  which  are  circulated  by  thousands 
and  tens  of  thousands  of  copies  every  year.     Besides  these,  a  Hymn-Book 
has  been  furnished  for  the  Indian  Church,  containing  translations  of  many  of 
the  choicest    selections   of   English    and   German   hymnology,   together  with 
original   hymns.     At  Allahabad  a  monthly  magazine,  the    "  Makhzan  Masihi," 
or   "Christian   Treasury,"    is   published   in   the  Urdu   language  for  Christian 
families,  and  has  entered  upon  its  eleventh  year ;   and   at   Lodiana   the    "  Mir 
Afshan,"   or  "  Dispenser  of  Light,"   is  doing  good   service  in  the  warfare  be- 
tween Christianity  and  Mohammedanism.     In  the  preparation  of  a  Christian 
literature  some  of  our  native  brethren  have  given  excellent  assistance.     One 
who  has  lately  passed  away,  prepared,  in  the  English  language,  an  elementary 
work  on  Theology,  which  received  a  prize  for  excellence.     Another  has  been 
engaged  in  the  translation  of  Dr.  A.  A.  Hodge's  work  on  the  Confession  of 
Faith.     He  also,  besides  translating  a  work  on  the  early  history  of  the  Church, 
has  just  brought  out  a  valuable  treatise  on  the  Trinity. 

:"  "~  THE    WANTS    OF    THE    MISSIONS. 

The  last ,  reinforcement  sent  to  Northern  India  was  in  1873.  Since  that 
time  two  missionaries  have  died,  and  five  have  left  the  field  without  any  ex- 
pectation of  returning.  At  Allahabad  there  are  three  missionaries,  two  of 
whom  are  in  indifferent  health.  At  Futtehgurh  there  are  two  more.  At 
Furrukhabad,  a  city  of  eighty  thousand  inhabitants,Aleaving  the  Rakha  division 
of  the  station,  with  its  important  Christian  village,  unprovided  for,  except  as  it 
can  be  superintended  by  one  of  the  two  at  the  city.  Mainpuri,  with  Etah  as 
a  sub- station,  provides  for  the  one  missionary  there,  a  field  with  perhaps  one 
million  and  a  half  of  inhabitants ;  and  at  this  station,  where  woman's  work  for 
woman  was,  in  our  missions,  first  organized,  the  Home  built  for  the  occupancy 


8 

of  missionary  ladies  stands  vacant.  Gwalior,  a  field  of  much  promise,  and  a 
frontier  station  of  the  Furrukhabad  mission,  looking  out  upon  Central  India, 
is  without  a  missionary.  The  station  is  superintended  by  two  ladies,  assisted 
by  a  native  evangelist.  There  is  a  little  native  Christian  community  here, 
and  the  widow  of  the  late  missionary  has  secured  from  Government  a  desirable 
site  for  a  church  building.  Thus  we  might  go  through  the  missions,  and  indi- 
cate the  wants  of  the  several  stations,  for  it  is  a  question  if  a  single  station 
in  our  missions  in  the  north-west  provinces  and  the  Punjab  is  sufficiently 
manned. 

A    SUGGESTION. 

The  question  has  been  raised,  if  it  would  not  be  advisable  to  transfer  our 
missions  in  India  to  the  English  societies  and  abandon  the  field.  On  the  sup- 
position that  any  of  these  societies  are  ready  to  take  up  the  additional  work, 
which  is  by  no  means  certain,  let  us  inquire  if  the  Presbyterian  Church  in 
America  is  ready  to  make  such  a  surrender.  To  do  so  would  be  to  confess 
that  the  Lord,  in  committing  the  work  of  evangelizing  so  many  of  the  millions 
of  India  to  its  hands,  either  had  blessed  the  Church  so  abundantly  that  it  was 
unable  to  meet  the  enlarged  demands  made  upon  it,  or  that,  since  the 
blessing  had  been  withheld,  the  Church  could  no  longer  trust  the  promise  of 
its  King. 

There  are  good  reasons  why  our  Church  should  not  take  this  retrograde 
step. 

i.  The  English  societies  are  taxed  to  their  utmost  ability  in  holding  the 
ground  which  they  now  occupy,  and  in  providing  for  the  normal  growth  of 
their  missions.  Those  who  would  entertain  this  proposition  must  forget  what 
a  vast  country  India  is,  and  what  an  enormous  population  there  is  to  be  pro- 
vided with  the  Gospel.  It  may  confidently  be  asserted,  that  were  England  to 
furnish  India  not  only  with  all  the  ministers  who  go  from  its  Theological 
Schools  every  year,  but  with  all  who  occupy  the  pulpits  of  the  British  kingdom, 
the  wants  of  the  Indian  Empire  would  not  be  supplied. 

2.  Our  Church,  in  undertaking  this  work,  stipulated  to  prosecute  it  to  its 
accomplishment.  There  was  at  least  a  tacit  agreement  to  this  effect,  mule 
with  other  branches  of  the  Church,  and  assuredly  we  made  no  condition  with 
the  Divine  Head  of  the  Church,  that  unless  a  certain  amount  of  success  were 
assured,  the  work  would  be  relinquished ;  nor  did  He,  from  whom  its  commis- 
sion came,  covenant  that  His  Church  should  be  discharged  from  this  service 
within  a  specified  time. 

3.  There  can  be  no  discharge  from  this  service,  except  the  Master  shall 
withhold  the  men  and  means  necessary  for  the  prosecution  of  the  work,  or 
close,  to  further  effort  on  the  part  of  the  Church,  the  doors  now  open  in  India. 
But  men,  good  and  true,  are  to  be  found  who  are  ready  to  consecrate  their 
lives  to  this  service,  and  the  Church  has  abundant  means  for  the  sending  out 
and  support  of  all  who  will  go.     This  on   the    Home   side.     On   the   side   of 


India  what  do  we  find  ?  In  spite  of  every  difficulty  the  work  has  expanded. 
In  1834  a  single  station  was  begun.  There  are  now  eighteen  principal  sta- 
tions, with  numbers  of  sub-stations,  some  of  which  are  occupied  by  ordained 
native  ministers.  Great  obstacles  have  been  overcome.  One  effect  of  the 
mutiny  was  to  break  down  barriers  between  the  missionaries  and  the  people. 
Facilities  for  acquiring  the  language  have  been  increased.  Thousands  of 
youth  are  taught  in  our  schools,  while  other  thousands  have  gone  out  from 
them  with  their  prejudices  against  Christianity  diminished,  and  in  many  cases 
removed,  and  with  the  seeds  of  divine  truth  implanted  in  their  hearts. 
Churches  have  been  organized,  an  indigenous  native  ministry  is  being  raised 
up,  and,  through  the  preaching  of  the  heralds  of  the  cross,  souls  are  saved. 
And  now,  when  the  Church  is  in  its  pupilage,  and  young  Christian  com- 
munities need  the  fostering  care  of  those  who  had  the  privilege  of  bringing 
them  out  of  heathenish  darkness,  and  on  every  side  Hindoos  and  Mohammedans 
are  accessible  to  those  who  can  tell  them  of  Christ,  is  it  the  time  for  our 
Church  to  lay  aside  all  further  responsibility ;  call  back  the  men  who,  bearing 
its  commission,  accept  cheerfully  the  toil  and  sacrifice  involved ;  say  to  the 
struggling  bands  of  native  Christians,  scattered  among  the  millions  of  idolaters 
and  of  Islam,  we  have  done  what  we  could  for  you  ;  you  must  now  shift  for 
yourselves  ;  and  after  the  night  of  toil,  make  over  to  otners  the  joy  of  the 
harvest. 


13, 


^  ^xuAoo  ffjestixml* 


BY    REV,    A. 'RUDOLPH. 


A    HINDOO    FESTIVAL. 


BY    REV.    A.    RUDOLPH. 


Nowhere,  perhaps,  does  heathenism  manifest  itself  more  in  its  naked  folly, 
and  nowhere  does  it  appear  more  hideous,  than  on  a  heathen  festival,  where 
the  superstition  and  bigotry  of  an  unthinking,  fanatical  multitude  is  running 
wild.  Nowhere,  perhaps,  does  the  missionary  feel  more  the  difficulty  of  his 
calling,  and,  at  the  same  time,  his  utter  helplessness,  then  when  he  visits  one  of 
those  festivals  called  in  India  "  Melas."  To  give  at  least  a  remote  idea 
of  what  heathenism  in  that  country  means,  I  will  try  to  lead  you  in  spirit  to 
one  of  these  festival.-'.,  many  of  which  I  have  visited  during  my  stay  of  38  years 
in  India. 

GANGES. 

You  know  that  the  Ganges  is  to  the  Hindoo  a  holy  object,  to  which  he  offers 
divine  worship,  and  in  whose  waters  he  bathes  in  the  hope  that  there  all  his  sins 
shall  be  washed  away.  This  magnificent  stream,  therefore,  is  an  object  of 
adoration  throughout  its  whole  length  for  upwards  of  1,500  miles,  from  its 
sources  in  the  Himalayas  down  to  its  mouth  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal.  Gangotre, 
the  fountains  ;  Hardvvar,  where  the  river  leaves  the  mountains  and  flows  into 
the  broad  plains  of  India;  Allahabad,  where  it  is  joined  by  an  auxiliary,  the 
Jumna  ;  Hajeepore,  where  the  Gandhak  flows  into  it ;  Benares,  hard  on  the 
banks  of  the  stream,  and  to  the  Hindoo  the  very  gate  of  heaven,  and  many 
similar  localities,  are  noted  places  of  pilgrimage,  where,  at  stated  seasons  of  the 
year,  thousands  of  people  from  all  parts  of  the  land  congregate  for  the  pur- 
pose of  viewing  the  river,  as  they  express  it,  of  sipping  its  waters,  and  bath- 
ing in  its  floods.  Weeks,  sometimes  months,  before  the  appointed  time,  Brah- 
mins and  fakirs  travel  through  the  land  from  town  to  town,  and  from  village  to 
village,  and  invite  the  people  to  follow  them  to  the  holy  shrine,  and  thus  to 
gather  merit  and  to  obtain  mukti  (salvation).  Parties  of  from  20  to  50  or 
more  are  met  day  by  day  on  the  highways,  on  foot  and  in  ox-carts,  on  ponies  and 
elephants,  all  eagerly  pressing  forward  toward  the  supposed  fountains  of  bliss. 
The  nights,  whether  dry  or  wet,  are  spent  in  the  open  air  by  the  side  of  the 
road,  often  far  from  any  human  habitation.  An  open  plain  and  a  well  by  the 
roadside  is  all  the  accommodation  they  claim,  though  groves  and  still  more 
sheltered  places  in  villages  and   towns  are  made  use  of  if  they  come  in   their 


way.  With  the  earliest  dawn  these  companies  break  up  to  leave  the  encamp- 
ino--ground  of  the  past  night,  for  another  long,  tedious  journey  must  be  ac- 
complished before  evening  sets  in.  Thus  are  weeks,  sometimes  months,  spent 
in  traveling;  for  the  longer  the  journey  and  the  greater  the  fatigue,  the  greater 
is  the  merit  gained.  At  last,  after  many  a  weary  march,  and  many  a  night 
spent  in  discomfort  on  the  bare  ground,  they  reach  the  end  of  their  journey,  hun- 
gry and  thirsty,  foot-sore  and  fatigued,  covered  thickly  with  dust.  But  mother 
Ganges  has  to  offer  them  no  comfortable  accommodation  in  hotels  or  inns, 
no  soft  beds,  no  well-cooked  meals.  Nothing  but  a  vast  sandy  plain  by  the 
banks  of  the  river,  that  has  been  overflowed  during  the  rainy  season,  and  that 
has  since  been  dried  again  by  the  rays  of  an  Indian  sun,  is  all,  besides  muddy 
water,  that  this  goddess  has  to  offer  to  her  votaries.  No  shrub,  hardly  a  blade 
of  grass,  is  to  be  seen  ;  a  few  stunted  trees  may  be  scattered  over  the  vast 
plain,  but  these  have  been  secured  in  time  by  Brahmins,  who  invariably  occupy 
the  nicest  spots  that  can  be  found  in  India. 

As  soon  as  a  party  of  pilgrims  arrives  and  views  the  longed-for  object — the 
Ganges — one  of  them  calls  out  to  his  companions,  "  bolo  "  (shout),  and  all 
with  one  accord  shout  at  the  top  of  the  voice,  "  Ganga  ji  ki  jai"  (victory  to 
the  Ganges).  This,  in  fact,  had  been  the  watchword  all  along  since  they 
started  on  the  journey,  but  now  it  is  uttered  with  greater  energy  than  it  had 
ever  been  done  before.  A  coarse  cloth  is  spread  on  the  ground ;  those  who 
can  afford  it  set  up  a  few  bamboo  sticks,  spread  a  blanket  or  piece  of  cotton 
cloth  over  it.  and  this  forms  the  habitation  for  the  people  by  day,  and  the  only 
shelter  for  the  night  while  the  mcla  lasts.  New  parties  now  arrive  in  quick 
succession,  and  in  a  very  short  time  are  the  sandy  banks  of  the  river  covered 
for  miles  by  an  immense  multitude  of  people.  Thus  these  silent  wastes  be- 
come suddenly,  as  by  the  wand  of  a  magician,  the  scene  of  life  and  activity. 
At  the  common  yearly  festivals  the  pilgrims  are  counted  by  thousands,  but 
on  the  return  of  the  kumb  (me/a,  that  occurs  every  twelfth  year)  they  are  num- 
bered by  hundreds  of  thousands,  and  have  sometimes  reached  that  of  a  million. 
On  arrival,  the  thickest  dust  is  shaken  out  of  the  clothes  and  wiped  off  the 
face.  A  short  rest  is  taken,  and  then  the  men,  leaving  the  women  squatting 
together  in  parties,  chatting  and  laughing,  screaming  and  quarreling,  walk 
about  to  look  up  acquaintances,  to  see  sights,  and  to  amuse  themselves  as  best 
they  can,  for,  though  the  object  of  the  mela  is  the  adoration  of  the  Ganges,  this, 
as  well  as  all  other  heathen  worship,  is  quite  consistent  with  the  most  childish 
frivolities,  and  even  sinful  amusements  and  excesses. 

FAKIRS     AND    THEIR     SELF-TORTURE. 

There  is  a  crowd  of  people  running  to  meet  a  company  of  naked  fakirs, 
marching  along  in  procession.  They  are  viewed  with  special  interest,  and  ad- 
mired as  the  holy  men  of  India.  Their  bodies  are  covered  from  head  to  foot 
with  ashes,  or  if  a  high  degree  of  holiness  is  attained,  with  dung.  For  years 
their  long  entangled  hair  has  not  been  combed.     It  is  clotted  together  with 


dirt,  and  has  of  course  become  the  harbor  of  vileness  that  a  civilized  man  abomi- 
nates. The  one  carries  around  his  shoulders  a  tiger's  skin  ;  another  has  stuck 
a  bunch  of  peacock's  feathers  in  his  hair  ;  another  has  wrapped  himself  in  a 
quilt  composed  of  rags  of  the  most  incongruous  stuffs  and  colors  ;  another  car- 
ries in  his  hand  a  pair  of  immense  fire-tongs,  for  he  is  a  fire-worshiper;  an- 
other wears  a  huge  devil's  cap  on  his  head,  and  indeed  if  you  wished  to  make 
an  image  of  the  evil  one,  you  could  hardly  choose  a  more  befitting  pattern. 
If  the  external  appearance  of  these  fakirs  is  hideous  in  the  extreme,  their  proud, 
wanton  look  betrays  a  mind  as  filthv  and  hideous  as  their  bodies.  But  why 
should  they  not  be  proud?  If  the  Ganges  is  adored  as  a  goddess,  they  are 
worshiped  as  gods  ;  for  they  have  the  power  to  curse  as  well  as  to  bless.  You 
are  provoked  to  believe  them  devils  incarnate,  and  you  wish  them  anywhere 
rather  than  here,  where  they  expose  their  vile  bodies  to  the  gaze  of  women  as 
well  as  men.  If  public  opinion  now,  and  the  known  disapprobation  of  Gov- 
ernment to  entire  nudity,  did  not  force  them  to  wear  a  rag  of  cloth  six  inches 
long  and  four  inches  broad,  they  would  gladly  dispense  with  even  that  much  of 
covering,  as  they  used  to  do  only  a  few  years  ago. 

There  is  another  crowd  gathering  around  a  pilgrim  that  is  just  coming  in. 
He  had  made  the  vow  to  go  on  a  pilgrimage  to  the  Ganges,  but  not  in  the 
ordinary  way;  but  to  measure  the  way  from  his  distant  habitation  to  the  banks 
of  the  Ganges  by  the  length  of  his  body.  Look,  he  has  just  risen  from  the 
ground  ;  carefully  he  steps  up  to  the  mark  he  had  drawn  with  his  finger  on  the 
sand  ;  now  he  prostrates  himself  on  the  ground  with  the  face  in  the  dust,  draws 
another  line  in  the  sand  along  by  h  s  head  ;  rises  again,  places  his  feet  near  the 
stroke  on  the  ground,  again  lays  himself  down  to  make  another  mark.  Several 
months  ago  he  commenced  this  queer  mode  of  traveling,  and  now  he  has  fin- 
ished the  journey,  and  is  just  in  time  to  take  part  in  the  mela,  and  receive  the 
homage  of  the  people,  for  henceforth  he  is  a  saint,  and  entitled  to  the  good 
things  of  the  earth  that  will  now  be  offered  unto  him  freely. 

Let  us  go  and  see  what  that  booth  contains.  It  seems  to  be  a  great  center 
of  attraction,  for  it  is  surrounded  continually  by  crowds  of  sight-seers.  A  dozen 
fakirs  sit  here  in  state  ;  they  are  self-tormentors  that  have  held  up  one  of  their 
arms  vertically,  until  it  has  dried  up  to  a  stick.  The  joints  at  the  shoulder  and 
elbow  have  lost  their  use,  so  that  the  arm  can  not  now  be  brought  down 
again  to  its  natural  position.  The  nails  have  never  been  trimmed  since,  and 
have  outgrown  the  length  of  the  fingers,  and  in  some  instances  have  grown  into 
the  flesh  in  the  palm  of  the  hand. 

You  pity  that  poor  cripple  who  stands  on  one  leg,  leaning  with  folded  arms 
upon  a  low  crotchet ;  the  other  leg  hangs  down  lifeless  and  dried  up  by  the  side  of 
its  partner.  But  this  is  not  the  way  the  man  came  forth  from  the  hand  of  the 
Creator  ;  nor  was  it  an  accident  that  deprived  him  of  the  use  of  the  limb. 
Ten  years  ago  he  vowed  to  stand  for  sixteen  years  on  one  leg  ;  six  still  remain 
till  he  shall  have  paid  his  vow  in  full.  In  the  summer,  when  a  fierce  Indian  sun 
is  trying  the  constitution  even  of  a  native  of  that  sunny  land,  he  causes  five 


fires  to  be  kindled  around  him,  and  in  winter,  when  the  nights  are  sometimes 
sharp  and  ^old  in  Northern  India,  he  causes  the  people  to  carry  him  into  a 
shallow  tank,  where  he  spends  the  night,  standing  in  the  water,  leaning  upon 
his  crotchet.  His  only  food  is  cow's  milk  now,  and  this  is  freely  brought  to 
him  by  the  people,  who  say  that  he  has  now  almost  become  Parmeshwar 
(God).* 

The  question  may  be  asked,  What  induced  these  men  to  choose  a  life  like 
this  ?  Was  it  a  deep  sorrow  that  drove  them  to  it  ?  Was  it  the  smiting  of 
conscience  that  gave  them  no  rest  and  made  them  thus  try  to  atone  for  past 
sins?  Did  they  feel  it  to  be  their  duty  to  crucify  the  flesh,  and  did  they  there- 
fore choose  this  method  of  mortifying  it?  Is  it  peace  of  heart  that  they  thus 
seek  to  obtain  ?  Their  looks  do  not  betray  it  ;  we  can  read  nothing  but  utter 
stupidity  or  inveterate  pride  on  their  countenances,  a  vain  gratification  on  be- 
ing gazed  at  and  admired.  We  stand  before  a  problem  which  we  can  not 
solve.  A  whim,  a  fit  of  passion,  a  quarrel  in  the  family,  a  supposed  wrong  in- 
flicted is  often  sufficient  to  make  a  native  of  India  throw  away  his  life  and  com- 
mit suicide  ;  but  more  is  needed  to  give  to  these  self-tormentors  that  persever- 
ing determination  which  deadens  them  to  bodily  pain,  and  enables  them  to  bear 
discomfort  of  the  most  revolting  kind.  Even  the  strongest  desire  to  become 
great,  and  to  be  adored  as  a  god,  does  not  fully  explain  the  mystery. 
But  we  do  discover  in  many  of  these  strange  phenomena  a  disgusting  carica- 
ture of  Bible  truths,  and  may  not  be  far  wrong  if  we  suspect  demon-like  influ- 
ence that  empowers  a  man  to  destroy  limbs  of  his  body  by  a  tedious,  painful 
process  of  self-torture,  and  to  lead  a  life  studiously  uncomfortable  and  abhorrent 
to  human  nature. 

A  few  paces  up  the  hill  bring  us  into  the  presence  of  another  abominable 
sight.  A  stark-naked  fakir  lies  with  spread-out  arms  and  legs,  and  with  closed 
eyes,  upon  a  bare,  sloping  rock,  without  the  least  motion  of  a  limb,  from  early 
dawn  till  late  at  night,  and,  if  we  are  to  believe  the  people,  all  night  through. 
Women  as  well  as  men  prostrate  themselves  before  him  and  offer  their  copper 
coins.  He  makes  a  good  business  of  it,  and  yet  he  pretends  to  be  dead  to 
the  world  and  to  the  things  thereof.  I  step  up  to  him,  call  him  a  great  sinner, 
a  deceiver,  lazy-bones,  that  ought  to  use  the  sound  limbs  which  his  Maker  has 
given  him  to  earn  an  honest  livelihood.  I  hope  to  rouse  his  anger  at  least, 
if  I  do  nothing  better,  to  prove  to  the  people  that  he  is  not  quite  as  mi- 
impressible  as  he  pretends  to  be;  but  there  is  no  sign  of  life.  His  featu.es 
betray  no  displeasure.  I  might  as  well  scold  the  rock  on  which  he  lies. 
The  by-standers  now  speak  for  him,  and  tell  me  that  he  has  been  lying  there 
till  the  rock  is  worn  away.  But  I  point  out  to  them  the  marks  of  the  chisel 
with  which  the  rock  has  been  hollowed  out  to  admit  the  body  so  as  to  keep  it 
from  sliding  down  the  hill.     They  smile  and  admit  the  fact,  but  for  all  that  they 

*  This  man  was  found  dead  one  morning  in  his  hut,  after  he  hand  accomplished  thirteen  years  in  this  un- 
natural position.  A  temple  has  been  erected  in  the  place  where  his  hut  Stood,  n e  ir  the  tank  in  Phagwara, 
twenty  miles  north  of  Lodiana,  and  has  become  a  place  of  pilgrimage  on  a  small  scale. 


continue  to  worship  him  and  to  bring  their  offerings.  They  care  nothing  for 
truth,  and  therefore  strong  delusions  are  sent  them  to  believe  a  lie.  We  turn 
away  and  find  another  fakir  hung  up  by  the  feet  from  the  branch  of  a  low  tree, 
head  downward,  swinging  slowly  over  a  smoking  fire  of  cow-dung.  And  again 
another  is  squatting  down  on  the  ground,  who  has  accustomed  himself  to  swal- 
low his  breath.  A  gurgling  noise  in  the  throat,  and  a  violent,  spasmodic  move- 
ment of  the  neck  and  upper  part  of  the  body,  is  enough  to  send  you  away  from 
so  disgusting  a  sight,  but  only  to  cast  your  eves  up  to  a  fat,  naked  fakir  riding 
on  a  huge  elephant  caparisoned  with  beautifully  gold-embroidered,  scarlet  cov- 
erings, while  another  from  behind  is  fanning  him  with  a  large  palm-leaf.  Vol- 
untary poverty  and  untold  wealth  thus  go  hand  in  hand  with  this  class  of 
saints.  But  heathenism  is  made  up  of  inconsistencies,  and  you  cease  to  wonder 
at  anything  after  this. 

BRAHMINS    AND    THEIR    TRICKS. 

If  the  eye  refuses  to  look  any  longer  at  loathsome  sights  as  exhibited  here, 
the  ear  is  no  less  tried  with  the  filth)',  noisy,  unbecoming  conversation  that  is 
going  on.  Abusive  language  grates  upon  the  ear  everywhere.  A  number  of 
Brahmins,  with  large  books  under  their  arms,  are  lining  the  road  and  are  watch- 
ing for  new  pilgrims  coming  in.  Two  of  these  gentlemen  have  descried  a  well- 
to-do  party  traveling  in  ox-carts,  and  are  trying  to  outrun  each  other  so  as  to  meet 
it  first.  Each  one  insists  that  the  forefathers  of  this  family  are  registered  in  his 
book,  and  each  one  insists  on  receiving  now  a  fresh  registering  fee.  They  are 
not  sparing  in  their  abuses,  each  one  calling  the  other  a  liar  and  a  deceiver, 
and  no  doubt  both  are  right.  There  is,  however,  no  way  of  escape  ;  both  must 
be  paid  off  with  a  gift,  and  the  party  is  glad  enough  to  get  off  so  cheaply  ;  but 
they  will  soon  fall  into  the  hands  of  others  like  them. 

Two  other  Brahmins  have  commenced  using  their  fists  as  well  as  their 
tongues,  and  threaten  to  kill  one  another.  A  poor  pilgrim,  such  as  the  Brah- 
mins call  in  contempt  a  two-penny  pilgrim,  who  had  already  been  robbed  of 
his  scanty  supply  of  cash,  handed  them  a  piece  of  cloth  half  a  yard  long.  They 
know  it  is  all  he  can  give,  so  they  fall  upon  the  prey  and  fight  for  it,  while  he 
hastens  on,  glad  enough  to  have  escaped  their  hands.  The  crowd  looks  on 
with  manifest  delight,  for  this  also  belongs  to  the  lawful  amusements  at  the 
mela.  I  ask  them,  Are  you  not  ashamed  of  the  conduct  of  your  Brahmins? 
They  smile,  and  pass  on  thoughtlessly  to  see  something  else.  Let  us  follow 
them  and  see  what  they  are  after. 

A    WONDERFUL    MEDLEY. 

There  are  long  rows  of  booths  erected,  in  which  merchandise  of  every  kind 
is  offered  for  sale  ;  for  though  the  primary  object  of  the  mela  is  a  religious  one, 
the  opportunity  for  speculators  is  too  good  to  be  lost.  A  large  bazar,  there- 
fore, offers  all  that  a  native  thinks  worth  bringing.  There  are  articles  of 
clothing,  shawls,  jewelry,  trinkets,  shoes,  pipes,  tobacco,  idols,  books,  pictures, 
food,  confectionery,  all  thickly  covered  with  dust ;  for  dust  is  an  article  you  get 


here  in  abundance,  whether  you  will  have  it  or  not.  A  dozen  carousals,  over- 
burdened with  men,  women,  and  children,  are  swung  round  vigorously,  and  for 
want  of  oil,  make  an  unbearable  squeaking  noise.  Rope-dancers,  snake- 
charmers,  jugglers,  bear-wards,  monkey-leaders,  all  draw  large  circles  of  spec- 
tators, that  seem  to  be  quite  unconscious  of  the  inconvenience  they  create  in 
obstructing  the  passages,  while  men,  women,  children,  fantastically  dressed-up 
fakirs,  fat  Brahmins,  dancing-girls,  policemen,  soldiers,  ox-carts,  elephants, 
camels,  horses,  donkeys,  half  starved  dogs,  pass  back  and  forward  in  wild  con- 
fusion. What  pen  could  draw  a  complete  picture  of  all  that  passes  before  the 
eye,  and  of  the  bustle  of  the  hundreds  of  thousands,  shouting,  laughing,  vocif- 
erating, quarreling,  to  be  outdone  only  by  that  ear-splitting,  most  disharmoni- 
ous, monotonous  music  that  heads  procession  after  procession  ?  One  must 
have  seen  such  scenes  to  form  an  idea  of  what  a  mela  in   India  is. 

Come,  let  us  leave  this  unruly  mass  ;  the  noise  has  become  insufferable,  and 
the  dust  is  suffocating.  A  fearfully  hot  Indian  sun  is  pouring  down  a  continu- 
ous stream  of  fire,  not  to  be  moderated,  even  for  a  moment,  by  a  passing  cloud 
or  the  shade  of  a  tree.  That  umbrella,  with  which  we  try  to  protect  our  head, 
is  twisted  into  all  sorts  of  shapes.  Scarcely  have  we  got  disentangled  from  one 
throng,  when  we  are  involved  again  in  another.  Is  there  no  quiet  place  here 
where  we  may  again  collect  our  thoughts,  and  once  more  be  master  of  our 
senses?  Yes,  there  at  the  edge  of  the  vast  encamping-ground  ;  come,  let  us 
seek  rest  there. 

THE     MISSIONARY    AND    THE    FIVE    ELEMENTS    OF    RELIGION. 

But  who  is  coming  in  there,  a  European,  and  there  is  another?  You  know 
them  at  once  by  their  foreign  dress  and  their  fair  complexion.  They  are  men 
of  grave  countenance  ;  from  a  distance  they  look  at  the  spectacle,  but  it  seems 
to  make  them  sad.  They,  too,  look-up  a  spot  suitable  to  pitch  their  camp, 
but  not  in  the  midst  of  the  din  and  noise,  for  they  need  quiet,  not,  perhaps,  so 
much  for  themselves,  though  they  look  very  tired,  but  for  the  business  they  are 
going  to  do  here  at  the  mela.  Their  ox-cart  has  arrived,  a  tent  is  taken  down 
and  pitched  ;  boxes,  one,  two,  three,  are  carried  into  the  tent.  They  contain 
articles  of  clothing,  food,  cooking  vessels,  dishes  for  the  use  of  these  foreigners, 
also  a  folding-table,  two  camp  chairs,  and  a  something  with  four  legs,  by  cour- 
tesy called  bedstead.  Two  heavy  cases  are  still  on  the  cart;  with  the  aid  of 
some  helping  hands  from  the  crowd,  they  are  taken  down  and  carried  to  the 
door  of  the  tent.  "  No,"  shouts  the  foreigner,  "not  into  the  tent;  we  will  put 
them  down  here  outside  the  tent.  They  are  not  for  our  use,  they  are  for  the 
people."  What  goods  may  they  contain,  and  will  the  people  buy  anything 
from  these  strangers  ? 

Why  not  ?  On  their  sign-board  you  read,  "  Ho,  every  one  that  thirsteth, 
come  ye  to  the  waters,  and  he  that  hath  no  money,  come  ye,  buy  and  eat  ;  yea, 
come,  buy  wine  and  milk,  without  money  and  without  price.  Wherefore  do  ye 
spend  money  for  that  which  is  not  bread?  and  your  labor  for  that  which  satis- 


fieth  not  ?  Hearken  diligently  unto  me,  and  eat  ye  that  which  is  good,  and  let 
your  soul  delight  itself  in  fatness."  Those  two  heavy  cases  contain  the  bread 
of  life,  Scriptures  and  tracts  ;  those  two  foreigners  are  missionaries,  who  have 
come  to  this  mela  with  a  commission  from  their  Master  :  "  Go  ye,  and  teach  all 
nations.  Teach  them  to  observe  all  things  whatsoever  I  have  commanded 
you."  They  have  brought  to  the  poor,  misled  Hindoos  the  everlasting  Gospel, 
which  the  Lord  has  given,  to  preach  unto  them  that  dwell  on  the  earth,  and  to 
every  nation,  and  kindred,  and  tongue,  and  people.  It  is  the  trumpet  of  the 
Gospel  that  is  sounded  now  ;  but  will  it  be  heard  in  this  tumult  ? 

The  missionary,  his  dress,  his  tent,  and  all  its  belongings,  have  all  along  been 
scrutinized  by  the  crowd,  and  are  made  the  subject  of  remark  without  any  re- 
serve. To  draw  their  attention  away  from  these  things  and  to  direct  it  to  the 
main  object  of  his  visit,  the  missionary  pulls  from  his  pocket  a  large,  colored 
sheet,  and  unfolding  it,  he  reads  out,  in  their  own  language,  "  the  five  elements 
of  religion."  The  figure  Jive  is  an  important  one  to  the  Hindoo.  He  believes 
the  universe  to  be  constructed  of  five  elements,  earth,  water,  fire,  air,  and  the 
heavens.  The  Panch'ayat,  a  council  of  Jive,  is  usually  called  together  to  settle 
matters  between  contending  parties  or  to  pronounce  on  some  important  point. 

The  missionary  now  proclaims  "the Jive  elements  of  the  true  religion."  i, 
Khuda  maiik  hai  (God  is  Lord).  2,  Insan  gunahgar  hai  (man  is  a  sinner).  3, 
Dozakh  ki  saza  hogi  (punishment  of  hell  awaits  him).  4,  Yisu  bachane-wala 
hai  (Jesus  is  the  Saviour).  5,  Shart  iman  hai  (Faith  is  the  condition).  He  ex- 
plains more  fully  the  meaning  of  these  five  points  ;  he  shows  up  the  folly  of 
idolatry,  the  wickedness  of  sinning  against  a  holy  and  righteous  God,  the 
danger  of  encountering  the  wrath  of  a  living  God.  He  speaks  of  the  helping 
hand  that  is  stretched  out  toward  the  sinner  in  sending  Jesus  Christ  to  save 
him  from  sin,  and  insists  on  the  importance  of  repentance  and  faith  in  that 
Saviour.  As  soon  as  the  one  is  tired,  the  other  missionary  takes  up  the  sub- 
ject, and  then  follow  the  native  assistants  with  their  discourses.  Preaching 
thus  is  kept  up  till  evening.  The  boxes  of  books  and  tracts  have  been  opened 
in  the  meantime,  and  the  contents  are  offered  for  sale  at  a  nominal  price. 
Thus  many  a  pilgrim  carries  in  his  hand,  to  a  distant  home,  that  may  never 
have  been  reached  yet  by  a  messenger  of  the  truth,  the  testimony  on  the  printed 
page,  and  in  his  heart  conviction  of  sin,  and  in  his  mind  a  doubt  of  the  all- 
sufficiency  of  the  Ganges.  The  missionaries  and  their  catechists  thus  work  day 
after  day,  while  the  mela  lasts,  from  morning  till  night,  each  one  taking  his  turn 
in  blowing  the  trumpet  of  the  Gospel  and  watching  for  the  downfall  of  the  walls 
of  Jericho  ;  but  that  stronghold  will  not  fall  till  it  be  compassed  seven  times, 
and  till  there  is  made  a  long  blast  with  the  Gospel  trumpet.  That  trumpet 
gives  no  uncertain  sound,  but  to  the  heathen  ear  there  is  not  much  music  in  it. 
The  keynote  is  always  faith  toward  God,  confession  of  sin,  repentance  from 
dead  works,  and  implicit  trust  in  a  crucified  Saviour. 


8 


A    MOTLEY    CROWD. 

There  is  no  lack  of  hearers  ;  but  the  audiences  change  in  the  ccurse  of  the 
day  a  hundred  times.  You  watch  the  different  countenances;  some  evidently 
listen  with  much  interest,  some  appear  quite  indifferent  ;  some  seem  to  be 
deeply  in  earnest,  others  walk  away  with  a  smile  of  contempt  ;  some  nod  ap- 
proval, others  in  going  off  call  it  a  lie  and  the  preacher  a  cheat.  Brahmins 
now  take  up  their  weapons  of  defense  ;  they  begin  to  fear  that  thus  the  walls  of 
Jericho  may  become  undermined  after  all  ;  their  craft  is  in  danger.  The  at- 
tacks of  the  missionary  are  directed  as  much  against  them  as  against  their  relig- 
ious system.  They  force  him  into  a  discussion,  and  though  they  are  beaten  off 
on  one  point,  they  have  a  hundred  others  in  reserve.  They  know  little  of  the 
rules  of  propriety,  and  their  remarks  are  seasoned  with  bitter  invective,  cal- 
culated to  vex  the  Christian  preacher,  and  to  take  him  off  his  guard  and  pro- 
voke him  to  angry  retorts.  A  Mohammedan,  though  in  principle  agreeing 
with  all  that  the  missionary  says  against  idol-worship,  is  yet  filled  with  envy 
at  seeing  the  crowd  listening  to  the  preaching  of  salvation  through  Christ.  He 
plays  the  dog  in  the  manger,  and  tries  to  raise  a  disturbance  by  cutting  re- 
marks. He  does  not  care  to  know  the  truth  himself,  nor  does  he  wish  others 
to  know  it. 

Thus  the  missionaries  have  worked  with  their  helpers  for  ten  days  in  succes- 
sion. At  last  they  are  thoroughly  tired  out ;  their  strength  is  almost  spent  ; 
they  have  become  very  hoarse,  and  now  their  voice  can  only  be  heard  by  those 
that  stand  nearest  them.  But  the  great  day  of  the  feast  has  also  come,  and  it 
is  the  last  day.  The  multitude  is  now  swelled  to  an  incredible  size.  All  now 
press  eagerly  forward  to  the  banks  of  the  river  for  the  last  time.  Once  more 
every  one  bathes  in  the  muddy  water,  the  men  almost  entirely  naked,  the 
women  with  a  sheet  around  them.  The  face  is  turned  toward  the  sun  ;  both 
hands  being  filled  with  water  are  raised  above  their  heads  and  the  water  is  al- 
lowed to  flow  slowly  down  into  the  river.  The  body  is  rubbed  down  ;  once 
more  it  is  dipped  down  in  the  water,  a  dry  cloth  is  thrown  around  the  shoulders, 
the  wet  one  that  has  dropped  underneath  is  washed  and  wrung  out,  and  away 
they  go,  chatting  and  laughing  as  they  came.  At  the  large  festivals  the  throng 
in  the  water  is  so  great  that  the  older  and  weaker  people  have  a  hard  time  in 
getting  back  to  dry  ground.  They  are  pushed  further  and  further  into  the 
stream,  and  there  have  been  instances  where  such  have  been  carried  away  by 
the  current.  What  does  it  signify  ?  Is  not  this  the  gate  of  heaven  ?  He  that 
dies  here  obtains  mukti — mukti,  that  undefined  good,  exemption  from  a  pain- 
ful existence  in  some  low  animal  after  death  ;  absorption  in  the  deity  without 
self-conciousness,  as  the  drop'ffeturns  to  the  ocean.  The  Brahmins  are  still 
busy,  eager  to  gather  gifts,  to  give  counsel,  and  to  strip  the  poor.  An  old 
woman  totters  down  the  bank  and  opens  a  knot  in  the  corner  of  her  gar- 
ment. A  few  pieces  of  bone,  an  old  decayed  tooth  is  deposited,  in  the  bed 
of  the  river  ;  it  was  all   that  remained  after  the  body  of   her  lord  had  been 


burned.     The  Brahmins  are  around  her  and  ease  her,  if  not  of  her  sorrow,  of 
her  money  certainly.     She  has  none  to  defend  her. 

There  lies  a  poor  wretch  in  praying  attitude  before  a  cow,  to  whom  he  has 
offered  some  yellow  flowers.  Behind  her  are  the  Brahmins  preparing  some  nasty 
pills  of  the  five  products  of  the  cow,  which  the  man  is  to  swallow  in  order  to 
be  restored  to  his  caste,  from  which  he  had  been  suspended  for  touching  un- 
wittingly some  forbidden  food,  or  drinking  from  the  water-pot  of  a  low-caste 
man.  Another  in  a  similar  prostrate  position  is  receiving  absolution  for  a 
horrible  crime  committed.  His  cow  had  been  sick,  and  he  was  advised 
to  set  her  bled  He  had  called  in  a  Mussulman  veterinarian  to  perform  the 
operation.  After  this  the  cow  seemed  to  get  better,  rose  up  and  ate  ;  but  two 
days  afterward  she  dropped  down  and  died.  The  village  Brahmin  pronounced 
the  owner  guilty  of  cow-slaughter,  and  sentenced  him  to  go  on  pilgrimage  to 
the  Ganges  with  two  hundred  rupees  to  pay  the  Brahmins  that  hold  the  keys 
of  heaven  and  hell,  commencing  of  course  with  the  village  Brahmin.  He  had 
not  the  money,  but  could  borrow  it  at  24  per  cent,  interest,  and  in  doing  this 
had  to  mortgage  his  house  and  fields  to  the  money  dealer. 

There  are  Brahmins  that  ought  to  have  been  here  at  the  me/a,  but  have  failed 
to  make  their  appearance.  They  had  been  commissioned  by  some  relations  of  a 
deceased  person  to  take  the  few  remaining  pieces  of  bone  to  the  Ganges. 
They  started  with  all  due  ceremony,  but  buried  the  bones  in  the  next  grave,  and 
are  sitting  at  ease  in  a  neighboring  village  waiting  for  their  proper  time  to  re- 
turn. The  people  themselves  will  show  you  with  a  smile  the  little  mole-hills 
where  the  bones  are  buried,  and  tell  you  their  origin. 

The  throng  has  grown  thicker  and  thicker,  the  noise  greater,  the  dust  more 
suffocating,  the  heat  more  intense,  the  minds  of  the  pilgrims  more  besotted,  their 
pockets  more  empty,  and  those  of  the  Brahmins  more  heavy.  But  these  go  home 
with  a  light  heart  and  a  cheerful  countenance.  They  can  afford  to  pass  by  the 
tent  of  the  missionaries  with  a  contemptuous  sneer,  ignoring  the  efforts  of 
these  faithful  preachers  of  righteousness,  seeing  that  the  whole  world  had  been 
here  to  pay  homage  to  the  Ganges.  The  number  of  hearers  at  the  mission 
tent  has  been  thinned  very  rapidly;  only  a  few  linger  with  the  missionary,  un- 
decided what  to  do.  The  one  in  taking  leave  says,  "  I  shall  pay  you  a  visit  at 
your  station  ;"  another,  "  I  will  take  leave  of  my  relations  first,  and  then  come 
to  you  to  become  a  Christian  ;  "  a  third,  "  I  am  going  to  fetch  my  wife  and 
children.  I  shall  come  and  be  baptized."  Alas !  how  seldom  are  these 
promises  fulfilled  ;  how  soon  are  good  impressions  lost,  and  how  many  bright 
hopes  of  the  missionary  are  never  realized. 

The  few  articles  are  now  gathered  up  by  the  pilgrims ;  they  are  tied  in  a 
.bundle  and  thrown  over  the  shoulder ;  but  each  one  carries  in  his  hand  a  large 
bottle  of  Ganges  water.  It  is  stored  away  carefully  at  home,  for  it  is  good  in 
cases  of  sickness,  it  is  required  in  the  worship  of  idols,  it  is  needed  for  the  dead 
and  the  dying. 

The  missionaries   take  down   their  tent ;    their  heavy  boxes  have  become 


IO 

light;  the  cart  is  loaded  and  away  they  go,  wondering  what  the  result  of  all  this 
labor,  fatigue,  and  exposure  will  be,  and  whether  the  seed  scattered  will  spring 
up  some  day  and  bear  fruit.  The  walls  of  Jericho  still  stand  firm  and  erect ; 
many  a  blast  of  the  trumpet  will  be  needed  to  bring  them  down.  The  shout, 
14  Ganga  jf  ki  jai,"  still  fills  the  air  wherever  the  returning  pilgrims  appear  ;  but 
a  soft  voice  in  the  heart  of  the  Christian  preacher  answers,  "Worthy  is  the 
Lamb  that  was  slain  to  receive  power  and  riches  and  wisdom  and  strength  and 
honor  and  glory  and  blessing.  Blessing  and  honor  and  glory  and  power  be 
unto  Him  that  sitteth  upon  the  throne,  and  unto  the  Lamb  forever  and  ever." 
Within  a  few  hours  all  signs  of  human  life  have  disappeared  from  the  vast 
plain — booths  and  merchandise,  pilgrims,  fakirs,  and  Brahmins,  all  have  disap- 
peared. The  missionaries,  too,  have  left.  Once  more  the  banks  of  the  Gan- 
ges are  as  silent  as  they  were  before  the  mela.  Swarms  of  crows  and  vultures 
are  still  hovering  over  the  place,  and  dogs  crawl  about  in  search  of  food.  One 
day  more  and  these  also  will  be  gone. 


i, 


SKETCH 

OP 


THE  BRAZIL  MISSION. 


REV.   A.    L.    BLACKFORD 


THE     BRAZIL    MISSION. 

/ 

REV.  A.   L.   BLACKFORD. 

The  Empire  of  Brazil  occupies  the  eastern  part  of  the  continent  of  South 
America.  It  extends  from  latitude  40  north  to  330  south  of  the  Equator  ; 
and  from  longitude  350  to  720  or  730  west  from  Greenwich.  Its  territory 
embraces  about  two-fifths  of  the  area  of  South  America  ;  and  is  perhaps  a 
little  larger  than  the  United  States  and  all  her  territories,  with  the  exception 
of  Alaska. 

The  greater  part  of  the  Empire  lies  within  the  torrid  zone  ;  since  only  a 
small  part  of  the  Province  of  S.  Paulo  and  the  Provinces  of  Parana, 
S.  Catharina,  and  S.  Pedro  do  Rio  Grande  do  Sul  are  south  of  the  Tropic  of 
Capricorn. 

The  valleys  of  the  Amazon  river  and  its  tributaries  occupy  the  northern 
part  of  the  Empire.  That  immense  river — the  largest  in  the  world — rises 
amongst  the  Andes  Mountains,  far  away  towards  the  western  coast  of  South 
America  ;  and  after  running  more  than  2,000  miles,  almost  due  east,  through 
Brazilian  territory,  empties  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  immediately  under  the 
Equator.     It  is  150  miles  wide  at  its  mouth. 

The  water-shed  of  the  south-western  part  of  the  Empire  flows  into  the 
La  Platte  river,  which  empties  into  the  Atlantic  Ocean  at  35 °  south  latitude. 

These  two  great  rivers  and  their  tributaries  afford  an  immense  extent  of  in- 
land navigation.  Most  of  the  territory,  however,  thus  rendered  accessible  is 
as  yet  very  sparsely  populated. 

Save  a  comparatively  narrow  belt  along  the  coast  and  the  valleys  of  the 
great  rivers  above  named,  Brazil  is  occupied  mainly  by  an  elevated  table-land, 
which  is  mostly  well  watered  and  very  fertile.  God  has  endowed  that  land 
with  yet  uncalculated  natural  resources,  and  has  undoubtedly  destined  it  to  be 
the  home  of  immense  millions  of  men,  who  in  some  future  epoch  will  constitute 
a  powerful  and  prosperous  nation.  Its  geographical  position  renders  it 
remarkably  easy  of  access  from  the  United  States  and  Europe  and  other  grow- 
ing portions  of  the  world,  and  is  hence  favorable  to  its  present  rapid  develop- 
ment, and  will  in  the  future  greatly  enhance  its  influence.  The  climate 
of  Brazil  is  varied,  and  on  the  whole  very  favorable.  Being  on  the  eastern 
side  of  the  continent,  it  is  milder  and  more  healthy,  even  on  the  coast,  than 
the  corresponding  latitudes  on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  which  lies  just  opposite, 
across  the  South  Atlantic  Ocean.  The  northern  parts  are  always  warm  ;  yet 
the  natives  there  prefer  the  climate  there  to  that  of  even  Rio  de  Janeiro, 
where  the  variation  is  quite  sensible,  though  not  very  great.  The  part  which 
lies  in  the  south  temperate  zone  enjoys  a  delightful  climate,  will  produce  the 
grains,  fruits,  etc.,  of  the  north  temperate  zone,  and  is  well  suited  for 
•emigrants  from  the  North  of  Europe. 

The  mineral  resources  of  Brazil  are  unquestionably  very  great,  but  so  far  un- 


improved  to  any  useful  extent,  save  precious  stones  and  gold.  The  conditions 
for  sustaining  an  immense  population  everywhere  abound  when  once  properly 
developed  and  improved.  It  has  been  computed  that  the  territory  of  Brazil 
could  sustain  a  population  equal  to  that  of  China,  which  is  reckoned 
at  400,000,000. 

The  principal  exports  from  the  products  of  its  soil  are  sugar,  cotton,  and 
coffee,  and  some  others  of  less  value.  More  than  half  the  coffee  produced  in 
the  world  is  said  to  be  grown  in  Brazil ;  the  largest  portion  of  which  is  shipped 
to  the  United  States. 

Except  near  the  coast,  the  more  populous  and  better  cultivated  parts  of  the 
country  were,  until  within  a  few  years,  chiefly  dependent  on  the  mule  as  a 
means  of  travel  and  transport ;  a  circumstance  which  greatly  hindered  its 
development.  Now,  however,  there  are  important  railroads  from  several  ports 
into  the  interior.  The  extension  of  some  of  these,  and  other  roads  in  various 
parts,  are  under  construction  or  in  project.  The  effect  is  already  manifest  and 
happy  in  greatly  accelerating  the  progress,  social  and  moral  as  well  as  material, 
of  the  regions  where  they  exist. 

The  present  population  of  the  country  is  reckoned  in  round  numbers  at 
10,000,000.  It  includes  Europeans  and  their  descendants,  the  aboriginal 
tribes,  and  negroes,  who  were  brought  over  as  slaves  from  Africa,  together 
with  their  descendants.  In  many  parts  there  is  a  large  intermixture  amongst 
these  different  races. 

Brazil  was  discovered  about  a.d.  1500,  and  was  soon  after  taken  possession 
of  by  the  Portuguese,  and  continued  to  be  a  colony  of  Portugal  till  1822,  when 
it  was  declared  independent,  under  the  title  of  the  Empire  of  Brazil.  It  is  at 
present  divided  into  twenty  provinces. 

The  government  is  a  Constitutional  Monarchy.  The  Legislative  Assembly 
consists  of  a  senate  and  chamber  of  deputies ;  the  senators  are  chosen  for 
life  ;  the  deputies  are  elected  every  four  years.  The  cabinet  is  chosen  by  the 
Emperor,  and  its  ministers  hold  their  office  and  govern  by  the  will  of  the 
crown,  subject  to  the  confidence  of  the  lower  house,  as  in  England. 

Portugal  held  constant  dominion  in  Brazil  from  the  time  of  first  taking  pos- 
session till  the  date  of  her  independence,  in  1822  ;  interrupted  at  times  by 
efforts  of  other  European  powers,  and  especially  the  Dutch,  to  establish  them- 
selves in  certain  localities  within  her  territory. 

The  white  population  of  Brazil  is  chiefly  of  Portuguese  extraction  ;  and 
hence  the  Portuguese  element  prevails  in  the  institutions  of  the  country,  in  the 
customs  and  habits  of  the  people,  and  in  every  department  of  life.  The 
civilization,  though  less  advanced  than  in  the  more  favored  portions  of  Europe 
and  the  United  States,  is  still  European. 

The  language  of  the  country  is  the  Portuguese,  a  sister  language  to  the 
Spanish,  but  clearly  a  distinct  language.  It  is  a  beautiful  language,  and  has 
been  appropriately  styled  the  eldest  daughter  of  the  Latin.  It  is  compact,  ex- 
pressive, flexible,  and  well-adapted  for  oratory  and  literature. 


Owing  to  the  illiberal  and  ignoble  policy  which  Portugal  pursued  towards 
her  colonies,  Brazil  was,  during  nearly  the  whole  of  her  colonial  history,  almost 
as  effectually  shut  out  from  intercourse  with  other  nations  as  were  China  and 
Japan  during  the  same  period.  All  the  trade  was  jealously  kept  in  the  hands 
of  the  mother-country  ;  and  not  until  the  seat  of  government  was  transferred 
to  Rio  de  Janeiro,  near  the  beginning  of  the  present  century,  were  her  ports 
open  to  the  trade  of  other  nations. 

With  the  exception  of  perhaps  one  or  two  unsuccessful  attempts,  there  was 
no  Printing  Press  established  in  the  country  till  after  1808,  when  a  small  one 
was  set  up  under  Court  control.  Of  late  years  great  advance  has  been  made 
in  this  respect,  and  especially  in  the  publication  of  newspapers  in  all  parts  of 
the  country.  Literature  is  also  beginning  to  receive  considerable  attention. 
The  press  is  absolutely  free.  Journals  and  books  of  every  description  can  be 
published  without  any  previous  license. 

In  1822  the  independence  of  the  country  was  proclaimed  by  the  son  of  the 
King  of  Portugal,  who  was  acting  as  prince-regent.  He  assumed  the  title  of 
Pedro  I.,  Emperor  of  Brazil  ;  and  in  1824  gave  the  country  a  constitution, 
which  in  its  main  features  has  been  considered  liberal.  In  183 1  he  abdicated 
in  favor  of  his  son,  now  Dom  Pedro  II.,  who  was  at  that  time  only  five  years 
old.  The  government  was  by  regents  from  that  date  till  1840,  when  the  Em- 
peror's majority  was  proclaimed,  although  he  was  but  fourteen  years  of  age. 
Dom  Pedro  II.,  after  a  reign  of  36  years  in  his  own  right,  still  occupies  the 
throne,  and  is  yet  in  the  prime  of  life.  He  is  a  man  of  intelligence,  of  very 
•extensive  acquirements,  and  of  great  activity  and  industry.  His  visit  to  this 
country,  from  April  to  July  of  this  year,  will  be  remembered  by  all.  It  is 
hoped  the  impressions  he  has  carried  away  of  our  land  may  be  as  favorable  as 
those  his  visit  has  made  here  in  regard  to  himself. 

The  5th  Article  of  the  Constitution  of  Brazil  reads  as  follows  :  "  The  Roman" 
Catholic  shall  continue  to  be  the  established  religion  of  the  State  ;  all  other 
religions  shall,  however,  be  tolerated  with  their  special  worship  in  private 
houses,  and  in  houses  designated  for  this  purpose,  without  the  exterior  form  of 
a  temple."  The  courts  have  decided  that  the  phrase,  "  without  the  exterior 
form  of  a  temple,"  means  that  non-Roman  Catholic  churches  cannot  have 
steeples  or  bells  on  them. 

ROMANISM    AND    ITS    HOLD    UPON    THE    PEOPLE. 

Romanism  was  inherited  by  Brazil  from  the  mother-country.  It  has  held 
almost  undisputed  sway  there  for  over  three  centuries.  It  is  but  fair,  there- 
fore, to  infer  that  the  system  has  brought  forth  its  legitimate  fruits  in  that  great 
and  beautiful  land.  The  moral  results  have  been  graphically  described  by  the 
Apostle  Paul  in  the  last  twelve  verses  of  the  Epistle  to  the  Romans.  Not  one 
word  of  that  tremendous  indictment  need  be  changed  in  relation  to  Brazil, 
and  doubtless  the  same  thing  is  true  in  relation  to  all  countries  where  Roman- 
ism prevails. 


6 

It  is  amazing  to  hear  men  who  have  access  to  the  Word  of  God,  and  the 
facts  of  history,  and  of  the  actual  state  of  the  world,  attempt  to  apologize  for 
or  even  defend  Romanism.  Romanism  is  not  Christianity.  It  is  rather  the 
negation  of  all  that  is  distinctive  in  Christianity.  It  is  the  great  apostasy, 
the  Anti-Christ,  the  master-piece  of  the  Great  Enemy  of  God  and  man,  for  the 
destruction  of  souls  and  of  the  welfare  of  human  society.  There  is  not  an  es- 
sential truth  of  the  Christian  religion  which  is  not  distorted,  covered  up, 
neutralized,  poisoned,  and  completely  nullified  by  the  doctrines  and  practices 
of  the  Romish  system. 

Aside  from  the  fearful  corruptions  in  morals  which  the  system  everywhere 
engenders,  and  which  will  not  bear  recital  here,  a  few  of  its  dire  results  may 
be  mentioned,  as  follows  :  The  most  debasing  ignorance  and  superstition  per- 
vade the  minds  of  the  masses.  The  religious  sentiment  in  man,  if  not 
nurtured  and  directed  by  the  truths  of  Divine  Revelation,  will  be  overrun  by 
the  most  degrading  and  ridiculous  superstitions.  Rome  everywhere  seeks 
with  jealous  care  to  hide  the  Word  of  God  from  the  people.  The  result  in- 
tended is  secured  : — that  abjection  of  spirit  and  superstitious  faith,  which 
engender  fanaticism  and  render  the  ignorant  the  ready  tools  of  priestcraft. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  intelligent,  educated,  and  thinking  classes  are  driven 
into  unbelief  and  indifference.  It  is  so  in  Brazil.  The  unlettered  classes  are 
grossly  superstitious  and  idolatrous.  As  a  general  thing,  intelligent  men  who 
have  any  claim  or  make  any  pretensions  to  education,  do  not  hesitate  to 
declare  their  disbelief  in  many,  if  not  all,  of  the  doctrines  of  the  religion  they 
have  been  taught.  If  any  such  profess  a  full  belief  in  their  system,  their 
sincerity  is  at  once  questioned.  This  is  the  natural  and  inevitable  result.  No 
man,  in  the  proper  exercise  of  the  intellect  with  which  God  has  endowed  him, 
can  intelligently  and  sincerely  accept  the  teachings  and  practices  of  Rome  as 
a  religious  system  emanating  from  a  just,  holy,  and  wise  God.  In  such  cases 
men  without  a  knowledge  of  the  truths  of  the  Bible,  naturally  seek  refuge  in 
rationalism  and  infidelity,  and  not  a  few  are  driven  into  absolute  atheism. 

Popery  has,  however,  demoralized  itself  in  Brazil.  There  is  in  general  very 
little  attachment  to  the  Romish  system  as  such.  If  the  Pope  should  disappear 
to-morrow  and  his  place  should  never  again  be  filled,  it  would  make  very  little 
difference  to  the  great  majority  of  Brazilians,  so  far  as  their  religious  belief, 
sentiments,  and  practices  are  concerned.  The  priests  are,  in  general,  ignorant 
and  immoral,  and  frequently  avaricious  and  exacting,  and,  as  a  consequence, 
are,  in  most  parts,  heartily  despised.  For  a  number  of  years  past  their  influ- 
ence has  been  rapidly  waning  in  the  more  intelligent  communities  and  amongst 
the  better  classes. 

In  1873,  the  bishops  of  Pernambuco  and  of  Para,  the  two  most  talented, 
learned,  active,  and  zealous  prelates  of  the  Empire,  undertook  to  enforce,  in 
their  dioceses,  the  papal  bulls  against  secret  societies.  This  attempt  met  with 
a  determined  resistance,  which  involved  the  said  bishops  in  a  conflict  with 
the  civil  power  in  regard  to  the  extent  of  their  several  prerogatives.     The  con- 


flict  culminated  in  1874,  when,  by  order  of  the  Imperial  Government,  the 
bishops  were  arrested,  tried  by  the  Supreme  Court,  and  condemned  to  four 
years'  imprisonment  with  hard  labor,  for  disobedience  on  their  part  to  an  order 
of  the  civil  authorities.  The  sentence  was  at  once  commuted  to  simple  im- 
prisonment, without  labor  ;  and  in  September,  i875>  after  having  served  out 
something  over  one  year  of  their  term  of  sentence,  they  were  released  on  a  gen- 
eral amnesty  decreed  by  the  Government.  At  last  dates  the  contest  had  been 
renewed  by  an  Encyclical  from  the  Pope  ordaining  that  the  entire  Episcopate 
of  Brazil  assume  the  same  attitude  for  which  the  Bishops  of  Pernambuco  and 
Para  were  prosecuted. 

The  fruits  of  Romanism  are  seen  not  only  in  the  moral  debasement,  but  in  . 
the  backward  state  of  mental  and  social  culture  and  of  material  progress.  The 
superiority  of  Protestant  nations  in  these  respects  does  not  result  from  the 
difference  of  race,  but  from  the  difference  in  their  religion  ;  it  is  the  effect  of 
the  power  of  the  truth  of  God's  Word  on  the  intellects  and  hearts  of  men,  and 
its  consequent  bearing  and  influence  on  their  conduct  and  social  institutions. 

Ten  millions  of  souls  in  Brazil   are  in  as  urgent  need   of  the   Gospel   as  are 
the  pagans  of  China,  India,  or  Africa  ;  and,  as  we   shall  see,    are  in   an  extra 
ordinary  degree  prepared  to  receive   it ;  yea,    more,  are   urgently    beseeching 
that  it  may  be  sent  to  them. 

What  has  been  done  to  meet  this  want  ? 

EARLY    ATTEMPTS    AT    EVANGELIZATION. 

It  is  a  deeply  interesting  fact  that  the  very  first  effort  of  the  Christian  Church 
after  the  Reformation  to  engage  in  Foreign  Missions,  was  that  of  the  church  at 
Geneva  to  send  the  Gospel  to  the  inhabitants  of  Brazil.  Coligny,  the  great 
French  Huguenot,  and  other  friends  of  the  truth,  conceived  the  idea  of  estab- 
lishing a  Protestant  colony  in  South  America  as  a  place  of  refuge  for  their  per- 
secuted brethren,  who  were  the  victims  of  Papal  fury  in  Europe.  In  1555,  an 
expedition  consisting  of  three  small  vessels,  under  the  command  of  one  Ville- 
gagnon, a  distinguished  French  naval  officer,  sailed  from  Havre  de  Grace,  to 
what  is  now  the  harbor  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  where  they  established  themselves 
on  an  island,  called  to  this  day  Villegagnon,  in  honor  of  the  leader  and,  as  he 
afterwards  proved  to  be,  treacherous  destroyer  of  this  expedition.  Their  joyous 
reception  by  the  natives,  who  were  at  war  with  the  Portuguese,  and  other  cir- 
cumstances, seemed  to  warrant  high  hjpes  of  success. 

On  the  return  of  the  vessels  to  Europe,  great  interest  was  awakened  for  the 
establishment  of  the  reformed  religion  in  those  remote  parts  ;  and  the  church  at 
Geneva,  under  Calvin  and  his  colleagues,  sent  two  ministers  and  fourteen 
students  to  accompany  the  second  expedition.  Soon,  however,  after  these 
new  colonists  reached  their  destination,  the  real  and  villainous  character  of 
Villegagnon  revealed  itself  in  a  series  of  annoyances  and  persecutions  against 
the  faithful  Huguenots,  who  having  gone  thither  with  the  hope  of  enjoying 
full  liberty  of  conscience,  found  their  condition  worse  than  before.     The  pre- 


8 

mature  ruin  of  the  colony  was  soon  consummated.  Many  of  the  colonists 
returned  to  Europe.  Of  those  who  remained  three  were  put  to  death  by  their 
infamous  persecutor,  and  others  fled  to  the  Indians  and  Portuguese.  Amongst 
the  latter  was  one  named  John  Boles,  who  is  noted,  even  in  the  annals  of  the 
Jesuits,  as  a  man  of  considerable  learning,  being  well  versed  in  both  Greek  and 
Hebrew.  Escaping  from  Villegagnon,  John  Boles  went  to  St.  Vincente,  near 
the  present  site  of  Santos,  the  chief  seaport  of  the  Province  of  S.  Paulo,  the 
earliest  Portuguese  settlement  in  that  part  of  the  country,  and  where  the  Jesuits 
had  a  colony  of  Indians  catechised  according  to  their  mode.  According  to 
the  Jesuit  Chroniclers  themselves,  the  Huguenot  minister  preached  with  such 
boldness,  eloquence,  and  erudition  that  he  was  likely  to  pervert,  as  they  term 
it,  great  numbers  of  their  adepts.  Unable  to  withstand  him  by  arguments, 
they  resorted  to  Rome's  ever-favorite  reasoning,  and  caused  him  to  be  arrested 
with  several  of  his  companions.  John  Boles  was  taken  to  Bahia,  about  a 
thousand  miles  distant,  where  he  lay  in  prison  eight  years.  When,  in  1567,  the 
Portuguese  finally  succeeded  in  expelling  the  French  from  that  part  of  their 
dominions,  the  Governor,  Mem  de  Sa,  sent  for  the  Huguenot  prisoner  and  had 
him  put  to  death  on  the  present  site  of  the  city  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  in  order,  it 
was  said,  to  terrify  his  countrymen,  if  any  of  them  should  be  lurking  in  those 
parts.  The  Jesuits  boast  that  Anchieta,  their  great  apostle  in  Brazil,  succeeded 
in  winning  the  heretic  to  the  Papal  faith  on  the  eve  of  his  execution  ;  and  then 
helped  the  hangman  to  dispatch  him  as  quickly  as  possible,  so  as  to  hurry  him 
off  to  glory  before  he  could  have  time  to  recant.  This  is,  doubtless,  a  grave 
injustice  to  that  heroic  witness  for  the  truth,  invented  for  the  double  purpose 
of  staining  his  memory,  and  shielding  and  exalting  their  own  order. 

The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church.  The  blood  of  John 
Boles  and  his  faithful  fellow-servants,  who  were  there  slain  for  the  testimony  of 
Jesus,  has  been  crying  to  God  from  those  shores  for  over  three  hundred  years  j 
•crying,  not  for  vengeance  on  their  persecutors,  but  for  mercy  to  their  descend- 
ants ;  that  cry  comes  still  to-day  to  the  descendants  of  the  Huguenots  in  this 
land,  and  to  all  who,  by  the  grace  of  God,  have  obtained  a  like  precious  faith, 
beseeching  them  to  carry  the  light  of  the  Gospel  to  that  beautiful  land,  over 
which  the  darkness  of  Romanism  has  hung  like  the  shadow  of  death  for  three 
centuries.  Would  to  God  a  double  portion  of  that  lonely  martyr's  spirit  might 
fall  on  many  who  call  themselves  servants  of  the  same  Jesus  for  whose  sake 
John  Boles  counted  not  his  life  dear  unto  him. 

The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church  ;  and  the  seed  thus  sown, 
amidst  the  storms  of  man's  savage  wrath,  in  the  rank  wilds  of  South  America, 
though  it  lay  long  hidden,  or  was  even  trodden  down,  was  not  lost.  We  have 
seen  it  bud  and  bring  forth  fruit.  A  rich  harvest  of  grand  results  awaits  the 
watering  and  the  ingathering. 

The  Dutch  attempted  to  establish  themselves  at  different  points  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  country,  from  Bahia  to  Maranham,  during  more  or  less  of 
the  second  quarter  of  the  seventeenth  century.     Godly  pastors  accompanied 


9 

their  expeditions  and  preached  a  pure  Gospel  in  their  settlements.  But  this 
•can  hardly  be  classed  as  missionary  effort  for  the  permanent  dwellers  of  the 
land;  and  all  trace  of  their  labors  seems  to  have  passed  away  with  the  lan- 
guage and  authority  of  the  bold  invaders,  except  the  mention  by  Southey,  in  his 
u  History  of  Brazil,"  that  they  had  prepared  a  catechism  in  the  language  of  the 
Indians,  whom  they  catechised,  and  other  books  of  an  evangelical  character  in 
Portuguese. 

RECENT    EVANGELISTIC    EFFORTS. 

To  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  of  the  United  States  belongs  the  honor 
of  the  first  attempt  to  plant  the  Gospel  in  Brazil,  in  modern  times.  In  1836, 
the  Rev.  Mr.  Spaulding  went  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  as  a  missionary  of  that  Church. 
The  Rev.  D.  P.  Kidder  joined  him  in  1838.  The  death  of  his  wife  compelled 
Dr.  Kidder  to  return  home  in  1840.  The  financial  pressure  of  those  times 
led  to  the  abandonment  of  the  Mission,  and  Mr.  Spaulding  returned  in  1842. 

It  is  impossible  in  this  sketch  to  give  any  details  of  the  work  of  these  breth- 
ren. Their  labors  seem  to  have  been  earnest  and  abundant  for  the  American 
and  English  residents  in  Rio  de  Janeiro'  and  the  seamen  visiting  the  harbor, 
whilst  engaged  in  studying  the  language,  preparatory  to  more  direct  missionary 
work.  They,  I  believe,  never  established  a  regular  service  of  worship  and 
preaching  in  the  Portuguese  tongue.  They  aided  in  circulating  large  numbers 
of  copies  of  the  Scriptures  ;  Dr.  Kidder  traveling  extensively,  mainly,  I  believe, 
for  this  purpose.  His  published  "  Sketches  of  Residence  and  Travels  in  Bra- 
zil," afterwards  merged  into  "  Brazil  and  the  Brazilians,"  by  Kidder  and 
Fletcher,  are  very  valuable.  The  full  results  of  that  Mission  are  recorded  on 
high,  but  will  hardly  otherwise  be  clearly  revealed. 

Many  copies  of  the  Scriptures  had  been  circulated  in  different  parts  of  Bra- 
zil, even  prior  to  the  residence  of  Messrs.  Spaulding  and  Kidder  in  Rio, 
through  various  agencies  employed  by  the  American  and  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Societies.  These  Societies  have  continued  their  efforts,  with  some  inter- 
ruptions, during  subsequent  years,  and  still  offer  the  most  generous  co-opera- 
tion in  the  great  work  in  that  land. 

Dr.  Kalley,  a  pious  Scotch  physician,  well  known  through  his  successful 
labors  in  Madeira  in  1842  to  1846,  went  to  Rio  de  Janeiro  about  1854  or 
1855,  and  has  ever  since  maintained,  in  his  own  way  and  on  his  own  account, 
a  work  of  some  importance  there.  He  has  had  a  church  at  Rio  de  Janeiro  for 
some  years  past,  and  some  preaching  stations  in  the  suburbs  ;  and  about  two 
years  ago  he  organized  a  small  church  in  Pernambuco.  He  has  no  ecclesiasti- 
cal relations  with  any  branch  of  the  Church  of  Christ. 

The  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  South  sent  out  a  minister  the  end  of  last 
year,  with  a  view  of  opening  a  mission  in  the  Province  of  S.  Paulo,  whither  a 
few  members  of  that  church  emigrated  some  years  ago. 

Except  the  above-named,  the  Presbyterian  churches  of  the  United  States 
are  the  only  ones  at  present  occupied  in  active  missionary  efforts  in  Brazil. 

The  first  missionary  of  our  Church,  the  Rev.  A.  G.  Simonton,  landed  at  Rio 


10 

de  Janeiro  in  August,  1859.  ^ne  writer  of  this  sketch,  with  his  wife,  joined 
him  there  in  July,  i860.  After  acquiring  the  language  so  as  to  use  it  with 
some  facility,  Mr.  Simonton  opened  a  place  for  preaching  in  Portuguese  in 
May,  1861.  It  was  a  small  room  in  the  third  story  of  a  house  in  one  of  the 
narrow  central  streets  of  that  great  city.  His  first  audience  consisted  of  two- 
men  to  whom  he  had  been  giving  instruction  in  English.  They  attended  as 
an  act  of  courtesy  to  their  teacher.  They  were  interested,  and  at  the  next 
meeting  brought  a  companion  with  them.  At  a  third  meeting  half  a  dozen 
were  present ;  and  thus  for  some  time  the  number  gradually  increased  ;  in 
fine,  the  work  has  gone  steadily  on  from  that  day  to  this. 

CHURCHES    ORGANIZED. 

In  January,  1862,  Mr.  Simonton  organized  the  first  Presbyterian  church 
of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  or,  indeed,  of  the  Empire.     At  this  first  communion  two 

I  persons  were  received  on  profession  of  their  faith.  One  of  them  was  one  of 
the  two  attendants  at  the  first  Portuguese  service  ;  the  other  was  an  American 
merchant  from  New  York,  whose  conversion  was  the  result  of  Mr.  Simonton' s 
labors.  Thenceforward  the  power  of  the  Spirit  accompanied  and  sealed 
the  preaching  of  the  Word.  The  work  has  been  steady  and  quiet ;  no  special 
outward  demonstrations;  but  there  have  been  constantly  in  our  congregations 
souls  earnestly  inquiring  the  way  of  life  ;  and  very  seldom  have  any  of  our 
regular  monthly  communions   passed    without    some   one   or   more    publicly 

I  confessing  the  name  of  Christ.  (Jp  to  the  end  of  1875  more  than  two  hun- 
dred persons  had  been  received  on  profession  of  their  faith  to  membership  in 
the  church  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  nearly  all  of  them  being  converts  from  Roman- 
ism, or  the  infidelity  and  indifference  into  which  Romanism  drives  thinking  men. 
We  have  now,  in  one  of  the  most  central  localities  in  the  city,  a  neat  stone 
edifice,  which  will  seat  comfortably  six  hundred  persons.     On  the  same  prem- 

Iises,  held  by  the  Presbytery  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  there  is  a  lecture-room,  school- 
room, book-store,  and  a  dwelling  for  one  mission  family.  Besides  the  regular 
services  in  the  church  building,  preaching  services  and  prayer-meetings  are 
held  regularly,  and  occasionally  in  the  various  suburbs  of  the  city,  which  have 
given  encouraging  fruits.  Besides  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  a  large  number  of 
books  and  tracts  are  annually  put  in  circulation  through  the  agency  of  the 
book-store  ;  and  a  good  many  of  these  find  their  way  to  distant  towns  and 
places.  Since  1864  a  semi-monthly  journal,  called  the  Improisa  Evangelica, 
has  been  regularly  published  at  Rio  de  Janeiro.  It  has  exerted  a  wide  and 
powerful  inlluence  for  good,  and  carried  the  glad  tidings  to  many  places,  which 
no  other  known  means  at  our  disposal  could  have  done. 

In  October,  1863,  by  direction  of  the  Board,  Sao  Paulo  was  occupied  as  a 
mission  station.  It  is  a  city  of  about  25,000  inhabitants,  capital  of  the  prov- 
ince of  the  same  name,  and  seat  of  one  of  the  national  universities  or  law- 
schools.  Whilst  in  some  respects  one  of  the  most  difficult  fields  for  evangelis- 
tic work  in  the  whole  country,  it  is,  perhaps,  second  to  no  other  in  importance,. 


11 

after  the  capital  of  the  Empire.  It  has  been  wisely  chosen  by  the  Mission  as 
the  seat  of  their  training-school  for  native  ministers  and  teachers.  It  is  a 
centre  of  influence  whence  the  power  of  the  Gospel  may  radiate,  not  only 
through  the  province,  but  throughout  the  land. 

i  The  preaching  of  the  Word  in  that  city,  where  infidelity  and  corruption  so 
alarmingly  prevail,  by  the  blessing  of  God  early  gave  fruit.  A  church  was  or- 
ganized in  February,  1865,  when  several  converts  were  received  on  profession 
of  their  faith. 

Though  the  progress  of  the  work  there  has  been  less  rapid,  and  for  a  time 
was  less  steady,  than  in  some  other  places,  it  has  become  firmly  rooted  and  is 
a  great  power  for  good.  The  number  received  to  its  membership  since  the 
beginning  is  considerably  over  one  hundred.  A  noticeable  fact  is  the  great 
number  of  its  members  who  have  removed,  to  other  places,  often  carrying  the 
blessing  with  them.      Four  of  the  first  who  there  professed  their  faith  are  now 

j  ordained  ministers,  and  of  those  received  at  a  later  date  two  or  three  are  study- 
ing as  candidates.  A  flourishing  day-school  for  boys  and  girls  has  existed  for 
several  years  in  connection  with  this  church. 

A  building  has  just  been  erected  in  an  excellent  location  for  the  use  of  the 
Mission  there,  which  furnishes  a  preaching-hall,  school-rooms  for  the  day- 
school,  and  present  accommodations  for  the  theological  and  training  depart- 
ment. The  funds  for  this  purpose,  so  far  as  yet  obtained,  have  been  mainly 
secured  through  the  indefatigable  exertions  of  Brother  Chamberlain,  who  has 
had  to  contend  with  difficulties   which   would    have    disheartened  most   men. 

\  The  first  funds  toward  this  object  were  appropriated   by   the   Memorial   Fund 
'Committee  in  1872.     Contributions  from  the  native  members  of  the  church  in 
S.  Paulo  and  some  personal  friends  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  among  the  foreign  res- 
idents swelled  the  sum  to  about  five  thousand  dollars,  with  which  ground  and 
material  were  purchased  in  1875.     Ten  thousand  dollars   have  since  been  sub- 

\  scribed  in  this  country.  The  thousand  or  two  lacking  to  complete  the  build- 
ing, it  is  hoped  will  come  in  from  those  interested.  A  subscription  of  three 
thousand  toward  a  permanent  fund  has  been  made  by  a  generous  friend  of  the 
cause,  and  two  of  $350  annually  toward  the  support  of  an  additional  pro- 
fessor. 

'  S.  Paulo  has  been,  and  should  still  be  made  the  centre  of  influence  for  a 
vast  itinerating  work,  which  will  give  great  direct  and  future  results.  Schools 
are  indispensable  wherever  churches  are  planted.  The  adult  population  is  ac- 
cessible to  the  Gospel  almost  everywhere,  if  not  everywhere.  Through  them 
the  rising  generation  can  be  more  easily  reached,  and  to  more  purpose.  The 
preaching  of  the  Gospel  is  the  divinely  ordained  means  for  saving  souls 
and  establishing  His  kingdom  amongst  men.  This  the  Lord  confirmed 
unto  us  by  experience  very  early  in  the  history  of  the  Mission-work  in 
S.  Paulo.     Toward  the  end  of  1863,  and  during  1864,  a  few  tracts  and  books, 

Iand  a  very  few  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  had  been  circulated  by  the  Rev.  J.  M. 
da  Conceicao,  a  former  vicar  of  the  parish  in  the  district  of  Biotas,  a  rude 


12 

agricultural  neighborhood  170  miles  from  the  capital.  After  repeated  and  ur- 
gent calls  to  go  and  preach  to  them,  they  were  visited  in  February,  and  again 
about  April,  1865.  It  was  a  tedious  and  laborious  journey  on  horseback  or 
muleback,  over  rough  roads  and  sometimes  through  mere  bridle-paths.  The 
mode  of  work  was  to  go  from  neighborhood  to  neighborhood  and  from  house  to 
house,  preaching,  reading,  and  expounding  the  Bible.  The  Spirit  of  God  had 
been  there  preparing  the  way,  and  was  present  to  seal  His  Word  on  the  hearts 
of  men.  The  truth  took  deep  hold  on  those  rustic,  but  intelligent  minds. 
Desperadoes,  who  had  been  the  terror  of  their  neighborhoods,  sat  meekly  at 
the  feet  of  Jesus  ;  men  and  families  who  had  sunk  very  low  in  ignorance  and 
corruption  were  saved  and  lifted  up.  In  November  of  the  same  year,  1865, 
a  church  was  organized  there,  consisting  of  eleven  converts  from  Rome,  who 
were  baptized  into  the  name  of  Christ.  The  meeting  at  which  that  church 
was  organized,  was  held  in  a  shantee,  made  by  planting  poles  or  rails  in  the 
ground  and  covering  it  over  with  grass. 

Rev.  R.  Lenington  went  to  reside  at  Brotas  toward  the  end  of  1868,  up  to 
which  time  there  had  been  no  settled  pastor  or  resident  missionary  amongst 
them,  yet  the  church  had  grown  in  three  years  from  eleven  to  over  seventy 
members.  Two  or  three  visits  had  been  yearly  made  to  them  by  the  mission- 
aries at  S.  Paulo  ;  but  much  of  the  result  seen  was  from  the  reading  of  the 
Word,  and  the  labors  of  the  converts  themselves.  Naturally  intelligent,  shrewd, 
and  active,  many  of  those  unlettered  men,  with  the  Word  of  God  in  their 
hands,  have  become  a  power  for  good  in  their  respective  neighborhoods.  That 
one  little  church,  planted  in  the  wilderness  in  1865,  had  grown  in  1875  into 
five  churches,  extending  from  Rio  Claro,  50  miles  to  the  eastward  of  Brotas,  to 
Rio  Novo,  120  miles  further  into  the  backwoods  on  the  south-west,  with  a  lat- 
itude of  40  to  50  miles  from  north  to  south.  This  vast  field,  with  its  five 
churches  and  other  interesting  and  important  points  around,  is  occupied  by 
Rev.  J.  F.  Dagama,  who  resides  at  Rio  Claro,  and  Rev.  A.  B.  Trajano,  one 
of  the  young  ministers  educated  by  the  Mission,  who  resides  at  Biotas. 

At  Rio  Claro  there  is  a  large  day-school.  At  Brotas,  and  at  several  points 
within  the  bounds  of  that  congregation,  also  at  Rio  Novo,  and  perhaps  some 
other  places,  schools  have  been  organized,  and  some  of  them  successfully 
maintained  for  several  years  ;  some  of  them  already  chiefly  self-sustaining. 
The  Mission  has  a  house  in  the  village  of  Brotas,  which  serves  for  a  dwelling, 
school-room,  and  preaching-hall.  At  Alto  da  Serra,  within  the  bounds  of  the 
Brotas  congregation,  although  20  miles  distant,  the  people  erected  a  house,  a 
primitive  structure,  it  is  true,  to  serve  for  a  church  and  school-house,  and  also 
a  dwelling  for  their  teacher.     The  same  is  true  of  Rio  Novo. 

In  some  places  they  have  night-schools  for  the  adults  ;  and  in  some  cases, 
old  men  have  diligently  set  themselves  to  learn  to  read  in  order  that  they  may 
be  able  to  read  the  Bible  for  themselves  and  to  others. 

Many  of  those  who  embraced  the  Gospel  around  Brotas  had  removed  from 
the  neighboring  province  of  Minas  Geraes,    a  distance   of  from   one   to   two 


13 

hundred  miles.  Through  them  the  truth  was  carried  thither  to  their  friends 
and  families  who  remained  behind.  And  there  we  have  to-day  church  organi- 
zations at  Borda  da  Matta,  Caldas,  and  Machado.  The  Rev.  M.  G.  Torres, 
himself  one  of  the  fruits  of  our  mission,  ministers  to  these  churches,  besides 
visiting  and  preaching  as  he  can  at  many  other  points. 

At  Sorocaba,  60  miles  west  of  S.  Paulo,  there  is  a  church  and  school.  It 
is  the  natural  centre  of  a  large  field.  Mr.  Leite,  the  licentiate,  resides  and 
labors  there. 

At  Lorena,  about  mid-way  between  Rio  de  Janeiro  and  S.  Paulo,  a  church 
has  been  organized  since  1868;  and  12  miles  distant  another  church  was  or- 
ganized in  1874.  These  churches  are  for  the  present  vacant,  but  are  visited 
occasionally  by  the  brethren  at  Rio  de  Janeiro.  Lorena  is  the  centre  of  an 
exceedingly  inviting  and  important  field  of  labor. 

Rev.  F.  J.  C.  Schneider  occupied  Bahia  as  a  Mission  station  in  187 1.  Bahia 
is  a  large  city  of  about  200,000  inhabitants,  situated  in  130  S.  lat.  No  place  can 
need  the  Gospel  more,  and  it  should  be  steadily  occupied.  It  is,  however,  an 
exceedingly  difficult  field,  and  the  progress  of  the  work  is  slow.  Yet  some 
fruit  has  been  gathered  in. 

Cachoeira,  some  50  or  60  miles  from  Bahia,  was  occupied  as  a  Mission  sta- 
tion by  Bro.  Houston  the  beginning  of  1875,  and  a  church  was  organized  the 
same  year.     The  prospect  is  said  to  be  encouraging. 

It  should  have  been  mentioned  above  that  Rio  de  Janeiro,  besides  a  popu- 
lation of  300,000  or  more  in  the  city  proper,  gives  easy  access  to  several  other 
important  towns.  Just  across  the  bay  lies  the  city  of  Praia  Grande,  capital  of 
the  province  of  Rio  de  Janeiro,  with  a  large  population.  Campos,  150  miles 
distant,  occupied  last  November  by  the  Rev.  M.  P.  B.  de  Carvalhosa,  is  a  city 
of  20,000  souls,  and  has  easy  access  toother  important  towns.  At  Petropolis, 
the  summer  seat  of  the  Court,  and  one  of  the  most  important  summer  resorts, 
we  have  a  small  church  organization.  It  would  be  too  tedious  to  name  all  the 
important  places  accessible  from  this  great  centre. 

In  1869,  Messrs.  Lane  and  Morton,  of  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church,, 
occupied  Campinas,  in  the  Province  of  S.  Paulo,  and  about  seventy  miles 
north-west  of  the  capital,  as  a  mission  station.  It  is  a  town  of  perhaps  10,000 
souls,  and  was  well  chosen  as  a  centre  for  successful  operations.  Their  labors 
have  been  greatly  blessed.  They  have  a  church  at  Campinas,  and  another  at 
Penha,  some  fifty  or  sixty  miles  distant  ;  and  encouraging  preaching  stations 
at  other  points.  What  they  consider,  in  some  respects  at  least,  their  most 
important  work  at  that  point,  is  a  large  boarding-school,  which  they  have 
inaugurated  with  great  labor,  and  which  has  been  in  successful  operation  now 
for  about  two  years.  They  had  at  one  time  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  pupils, 
chiefly  from  Roman  Catholic  families.  Religious  instruction,  boldly  evangeli- 
cal, is  a  definite  feature  of  their  teaching.  Their  Mission  at  that  station  has 
been  reinforced  by  the  Rev.  Mr.  Boyle  and  several  teachers  sent  from  this 
country. 


14 

The  Southern  Church  also  occupied  as  a  mission  station,  early  in  1873,  tne 
city  of  Pernambuco,  situated  in  8°  south  latitude.  It  is  the  third  city  in  size 
in  the  Empire,  and  perhaps  the  second  in  importance.  It  claims  about  150,000 
inhabitants.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  province,  seat  of  one  of  the  national  uni- 
versities or  law-schools,  and  has  an  extensive  foreign  commerce.  That  station 
I  is  at  present  occupied  by  Messrs.  J.  R.  Smith  and  William  LeConte.  Whilst 
very  hopeful,  I  believe,  for  the  future,  they  seem  so  far  to  be  engaged  in  foun- 
dation work. 

Mention  should  perhaps  be  made  of  a  number  of  German  colonies,  in  vari- 
ous parts  of  the  Empire,  in  which,  on  an  average,  perhaps  one-half  of  the 
colonists  are  nominally  Protestants.  In  many,  perhaps  most  of  the  more 
important  colonies,  there  are  Protestant  pastors,  usually  paid  in  part  by  the 
Government.  A  portion  of  these  pastors  are,  alas  !  only  nominally  Protest- 
ants ;  some  are  even  infidels.  A  good  many  of  them,  however,  seem  to  be 
godly  men,  and,  for  Germans,  sound  in  the  faith  ;  yet  in  only  one  such  pas- 
toral charge  have  I  heard  of  any  true  spiritual  fruits;  and  in  that  case  the 
opposition  was  more  bitter  and  tenacious  than  we  have  ever  encountered 
amongst  the  native  Roman  Catholics.  These  poor  people  generally  say  they 
want  a  pastor  to  baptize  their  children,  to  confirm,  marry,  and  bury  them,  and 
perhaps  teach  a  school,  and  for  the  rest  to  let  them  alone  ;  and,  I  fear,  many  of 
their  pastors  aspire  to  little  more.  Even  the  most  evangelical  amongst  them 
do  not  give  themselves  to  proper  missionary  work.  Brother  Schneider  was 
occupied  chiefly  for  the  first  four  years  in  preaching  amongst  the  Germans, 
and  he  became  wholly  discouraged.  The  presence  of  German  Protestants  in 
a  place  we  have  usually  found  a  serious  hinderance  to  our  work  amongst  the 
Brazilians.  These  facts  merit  serious  attention.  A  more  definite  effort  should 
be  made  for  the  benefit  of  that  portion  of  the  population,  which  is  to  become 
a  potent  influence  for  good  or  evil  in  that  land. 

Let  it  not  be  supposed  there  are  no  difficulties  in  the  way  of  the  work  in 
Brazil.  Besides  those  arising  everywhere  from  human  depravity,  weakness, 
and  unbelief,  there  are  not  a  few  peculiar  to  special  causes  there.  There  is 
full  legal  toleration  for  even  the  most  active  evangelistic  work,  which  the  Gov- 
ernment seems  disposed  fully  to  maintain,  yet  Protestants  are  subjected  to 
certain  civil  disabilities  and  legal  annoyances.  Believers  have  also  often  to 
undergo  bitter  and  obstinate  social  and  domestic  persecution.  As  an  example, 
a  member  of  one  of  our  churches  in  Minas  Geraes,  a  man  thirty-five  years  of 
age,  and  a  father  of  a  family,  was  severely  whipped  by  his  mother  for  having 
abandoned  the  religion  of  his  fathers.  He  took  it  patiently,  and  held  fast  his 
faith  iii  Jesus. 

.  An  effectual  door  is  open  for  the  Gospel  in  Brazil.  That  country  ought  to 
be  evangelized  within  lhe  next  ten  years.  It  can  be,  may  be.  will  be,  if  the 
Church  will  only  arise  and  do  her  duty.  The  Lord  has  gone  before  and  mar- 
velously  prepared  the  way.  Time  would  fail  to  enumerate  the  important 
points  to  be  occupied,  or   to  tell   of  the   numerous   and  urgent  calls  to  go  and 


15 

preach,  which  are  sent  oftentimes  from  distant  places  where  a  Bible,  a  book, 
-a  tract,   or  an    Imprensa    Evangelica   has   told   of  the   Word   or   work,    but 

where  no  living  teacher  has  ever  gone,  and  where,  alas  !  we  have  none  to  send. 

In  a  population  thus  ready  and  earnestly  waiting  for  the  Gospel,  there  is  one 

evangelical  minister  to  every  500,000  souls,  whilst  in  the  United  States  there 

is  one  to  about  every  750. 

This  country  has  very  large  and  important  commercial  relations  with  Brazil. 

The  Master  has  highly  favored  the  Presbyterian  Church  of  these  United  States, 

in  giving  her  the  almost  exclusive  privilege  thus  far  of  preaching  the  Gospel  to 

that  interesting  people.      How   will  she    respond   to   this    Providential   call  ? 

Brethren,  your  prayers,  your  sons  and  daughters,  and  your  gold  and  silver  are 

needed  for  this  work. 

There  are  in  connection  with  our  Mission   16   organized  churches,  with   an 

aggregate  membership  of  668.     With  that  of  the  Southern  Church  there  are 
.4  churches. 

ROLL    OF    LABORERS. 

A.  G.  Simonton  went  out  1859  5  died  at  S.  Paulo,    1867. 

Mrs.  Helen  Simonton  went  out  1863  ;  died  at  Rio  de  Janeiro,  1864. 

A.  L.  Blackford  and  wife  went  out  i860  ;  at  home  since  November  1875. 

F.  J.  C.  Schneider  went  out  186 1  ;  Mrs.  S.  joined  the  Mission  1864. 

G.  W.  Chamberlain  joined  the  Mission  1866  ;  Mrs.  C.  1868. 
E.  N.  Pires  went  out  1866  ;  retired  1869. 

H.  W.  McKee  and  wife  went  out  1867  ;  retired  1870  (or  '71). 

Mr.  Lenington  and  wife  reached  Brazil  1868;  at  home  from   1872   to  1875. 

Misses  Dascomb  and  Greenman  in  1869. 

J.  F.  Dagama  and  wife  1870. 

E.  Vanorden  and  wife  1872  ;  resigned  1876. 

J.  B.  Howell  1873. 

J.  T.  Houston  and  wife  1874. 

D.  M.  Hazlett  and  wife  1875. 

Miss  Ella  Kuhl  1874. 

The  Presbytery  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  was  organized  December  1865,  in  the 
city  of  S.  Paulo. 

J.  M.  da  Conceicao,  an  ex-priest,  was  ordained  December  1865  ;  died  De- 
cember 1873. 

Win.  D.  Pitt  was  ordained  Aug.  1869  >  died  Feb.  or  March  1870. 

M.  P.  B.  de  Carvalhosa  was  ordained  187 1. 

A.  B.  Trajano  and  M.  G.  Torres  were  ordained  Aug.  1875. 

A.  P.  de  Cerqueira  Leite  was  ordained  Aug.  1876. 


/s. 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  MISSIONS 


SOUTH  AMERICAN  MISSIONS. 


Whilst  Asia  and  Africa  are  chiefly  under  pagan  and  Mohammedan  influ- 
ence, South  America  has  been  for  centuries  almost  wholly  under  the  power  of 
Rome.  Soon  after  its  discovery  in  1498  by  Columbus,  it  was  traversed  by 
adventurers  and  Romish  priests,  who  took  possession  of  country  after  country, 
and  annexed  it  to  the  See  of  Rome.  With  the  exception  of  the  southern  por- 
tion, and  a  small  part  of  the  northern,  the  whole  peninsula  fell  under  the  sway 
of  Spain  and  Portugal,  and  for  three  centuries  their  rulers  were  represented  by 
Viceroys  or  other  officers.  This  continued  until  the  early  part  of  the  present 
century,  when,  through  political  revolutions,  and  a  determination  to  be  free 
from  foreign  control,  on  the  part  of  many  of  the  people,  success  crowned  their 
labors  and  their  resistance  to  oppression.  In  1822,  Brazil  became  independ- 
ent of  Portugal,  and  the  other  States  soon  ceased  to  be  Spanish  colonies. 

Though  free  from  foreign  sway,  and  guaranteeing  political  rights  to  their 
people,  ecclesiasticism  was  strong  in  certain  countries,  and  Romanism  defended 
all  approaches  to  her  domain.  Religious  toleration  was  first  recognized  in 
Brazil,  then  in  other  countries,  until  now  Protestant  missionaries  can  enter  any 
of  them  and  be  protected  in  their  work. 

The  Board  has  been  privileged  to  send  laborers  to  the  United  States  of 
Colombia,  Brazil,  and  Chili.  Though  separated  from  each  other,  the  field  is 
a  common  one  as  regards  the  character  of  the  people  to  be  reached  with  the 
Gospel,  their  social  and  moral  condition,  the  obstacles  in  the  way  of  their 
being  delivered  from  a  false  system  of  faith,  and  brought  into  a  higher  civiliza- 
tion and  a  purer  morality.  It  is  not  necessary  to  speak  of  Romanism  as  a 
system  of  ecclesiasticism,  except  to  say  that  whenever  it  has  become  the  faith 
of  a  people,  it  has  in  some  way  deprived  the  Gospel  of  its  transforming  and 
sanctifying  power,  it  has  interfered  with  liberty  of  conscience,  it  has  trampled 
under-foot  the  rights  of  man,  it  has  subsidized  everything  that  it  could  grasp 
for  its  own  aggrandizement,  and  has  seized  upon  the  control  of  education  and 
the  reins  of  political  influence.  As  a  religion,  it  has  ignored  the  simplicity  of 
the  Gospel,  corrupted  and  degraded  many  of  the  doctrines  of  the  cross,  and 
adapted  itself  to  the  wants  of  the  human  heart  by- pandering  to  its  pride  and 
self-seeking  by  means  of  penances  and  meritorious  deeds.  As  a  Church,  it  is 
bitter,  relentless,  and  persecuting  toward  others,  and  in  itself  it  is  the  monop- 
oly of  pride  and  arrogance,  worldliness  and  error,  idolatry  and  superstition. 

The  crushing  effects  of  such  a  system  are  seen  in  South  America.  The 
priesthood  as  a  class  are  ignorant  and  immoral.  The  men  are  irreligious  and 
the  women  superstitious.     The  Indians  and  many  of  mixed  blood  are  Chris- 


4  South  American  Missions. 

tianized  pagans,  and  not  a  few  are  pagan.  The  tone  of  morals  is  low.  Ed- 
ucation is  confined  to  the  few  rather  than  the  many,  and  it  is  evident  that 
social,  civil,  and  spiritual  life  is  seriously  affected,  and  in  some  respects  de- 
moralized by  the  presence  and  power  of  such  a  faith. 

Though  liberty  of  conscience  is  guaranteed,  yet  Romanism  can  do  much  to 
thwart  effort  and  interfere  with  schemes  of  evangelization.  In  Brazil,  no  Prot- 
estant can  hold  office  ;  all  places  involving  any  trust  must  be  filled  by  Roman 
Catholics,  nominal  or  real.  The  spirit  of  persecution  is  also  strong  in  sections, 
and  much  care  and  prudence  have  to  be  exercised  in  the  presentation  of  re- 
ligious truth. 

For  a  short  period  the  Board  had  a  missionary  in  Buenos  Ayres,  who  com- 
menced labors  especially  among  the  French  in  1853  ;  this  was  discontinued  in 
1859.  Only  one  minister,  a  native  of  France,  was  connected  with  it.  After 
his  retirement,  the  mission  was  discontinued.  The  next  effort  to  reach  the 
inhabitants  of  South  America  with  the  Gospel  was  in  New  Granada,  which 
was  afterward  merged  into  the 

UNITED    STATES    OF    COLOMBIA, 

which  is  the  present  name  of  the  mission.  The  first  missionary,  on  his  arrival 
at  Bogota  in  the  latter  part  of  1856,  found  in  some  respects  an  open  door. 
No  hindrance  on  the  part  of  the  Government,  though  much  on  the  part  of  the 
priests  who  swarmed  over  the  city.  He  soon,  in  mingling  with  the  people, 
discovered  a  great  difference  between  Romanism  modified  by  Protestant  influ- 
ences in  the  United  States,  and  the  same  system  away  from  any  such  checks. 
He  found  among  the  youth  and  the  men  no  love  for  the  Church,  but  a  wide- 
spread Deism  ;  he  found  a  low  standard  of  morality  everywhere  prevalent ;  the 
utter  absence  of  spiritual  life,  and  a  resting  only  in  outward  ceremonials  for  an 
inward  preparation  for  the  life  to  come. 

The  station  selected  for  the  beginning  of  the  work  was 

Bogota. — This  is  the  capital  of  the  country,  and  is  situated  on  the  gently 
sloping  foot  of  two  mountains,  which  rise  many  hundred  feet  above  it.  The 
city  has  an  altitude  of  8,650  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  and  a  temperature 
ranging  from  580  to  620.  The  population  of  the  city  is  about  45,000.  The 
number  of  ecclesiastics  amounts  to  several  hundred.  The  first  laborer  sent 
out  was  Rev.  Henry  B.  Pratt,  who  reached  Bogota  June  20,  1856.  He  was 
cordially  welcomed  by  several  Spanish  and  American  residents.  Pie  soon 
commenced  English  services,  but  these  had  to  be  discontinued.  Whilst  study- 
ing the  language  he  prepared  certain  tracts,  and  also  published  some  articles 
in  one  of  the  leading  papers.  These  created  some  stir  ;  a  difficulty  in  the  way 
of  circulating  the  truth,  was  the  ignorance  of  many  of  the  people.  This  mis- 
sion was  reinforced  by  Rev.  Samuel  M.  Sharpe  and  his  wife,  who  reached 
Bogota  "July  20th,  1858.  Soon  after  their  arrival,  services  in  Spanish  were  com- 
menced, which  aroused  bitter  opposition  among  the  Romish  party.  These 
disorders  were  speedily  quelled  by   the  authorities,  who  were  determined   to 


Soitth  American  Missions.  5 

maintain  the  rights  of  toleration.  A  night-school  was  started,  and  was  attended 
by  many.  Excommunication  was  threatened  by  the  priesthood  against  all  who 
should  be  present  at  any  Protestant  service.  Mr.  Pratt  returned  to  the  United 
States  in  i860,  for  the  purpose  of  superintending  the  printing  of  "Seymour's 
Evenings  with  the  Romanists,"  which  he  had  translated,  and  also  for  aiding  in 
the  revision  of  the  New  Testament  in  Spanish.  Besides  the  services  mentioned 
for  the  purpose  of  reaching  the  people  with  the  truth,  a  Sabbath-school  and  a 
Bible-class  were  organized. 

Whilst  rejoicing  in  these  increasing  agencies  for  the  good  of  the  people,  Mr. 
Sharpe  was  stricken  down  with  disease  and  died  October  30,  i860.  He  was 
able,  before  his  departure,  to  welcome  to  his  field  of  labor  Rev.  W.  E.  Mc- 
Laren and  his  wife.  At  that  time  civil  war  was  raging,  though  the  missionaries 
were  not  exposed  to  personal  dangers,  still  it  interfered  with  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  the  people,  as  the  Conservative  or  Jesuit  party  held  for  a  time  the 
capital  of  the  country.  When  it  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Liberal  party,  the 
Jesuit  priests  were  banished,  the  monastic  orders  were  placed  under  restric- 
tions, and  other  means  adopted  to  diminish  the  political  influence  of  the  Romish 
power.  A  church  was  organized  November,  1861,  of  six  persons.  Owing 
to  the  distracted  condition  of  the  country,  the  discouraging  aspects  of  the  work, 
and  for  personal  reasons,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  McLaren  returned  home  in  January, 
1863,  and  their  relation  to  the  Board  was  afterward  dissolved.  As  Mr. 
Pratt  remained  at  home  without  returning  to  his  field,  this  left  the  mission 
solely  under  the  charge  of  Rev.  T.  F.  Wallace  and  his  wife,  who  reached 
Bogota  March  19,  1862. 

Death,  and  the  removal  of  laborers  when  prepared  for  usefulness,  interfered 
greatly  with  the  progress  of  this  mission,  and  for  years  Mr.  Wallace  stood 
alone  ;  at  first  studying  the  language,  and  getting  ready  for  active  labor.  In 
the  fall  of  1866,  Rev.  P.  H.  Pitkin  sailed  for  Bogota,  and  remained  in 
connection  with  this  mission  till  his  transfer  to  Mexico,  when  Mr.  Wallace  was 
again  the  only  laborer,  except  Miss  Kate  McFarren,  who  had  joined  the  mis- 
sion in  1868,  and  had  taken  charge  of  the  girls'  school.  Mrs.  Wallace's  health 
giving  way,  obliged  Mr.  Wallace  to  return  home  in  1875.  Near  the  close  of 
1874,  Rev.  W.  Weaver  and  his  wife  arrived  at  Bogota.  With  the  exception  of 
Mr.  Wallace,  all  the  laborers,  for  one  cause  or  another,  have  been  able  to  stay 
for  a  comparatively  short  period  in  the  field.  A  church  building  has  been 
purchased  and  fitted  up  at  considerable  expense  for  worship  ;  a  church  of  over 
twenty  members  has  been  organized ;  a  school  of  growing  importance  has 
been  established ;  one  of  the  native  members  of  the  church  has  taken  a 
partial  collegiate,  and  also  a  full  theological  course  at  one  of  our  semina- 
ries. Mr.  Weaver  greatly  needs  an  associate,  and  if  the  mission  is  to  be  held 
it  must  be  reinforced  ;  a  good  beginning  has  been  made.  Much  seed  has  been 
scattered  that  needs  attention.  The  prospect  for  future  success  is  encourag- 
ing, and  of  this  the  Church  should  take  advantage.  Too  much  has  been  done 
to  think  of  leaving  it,  and  too  little  to  accomplish  great  future  successes. 


6  South  American  Missto?is. 

BRAZIL. 

Brazil  is  different  in  some  respects  from  the  United  States  of  Colombia.  It 
is  much  larger,  more  influential,  more  stable  in  its  government,  and  free  from 
the  revolutions  that  have  somewhat  interfered  with  the  growth  and  prosperity 
of  the  other.  The  former  is  an  Empire,  the  latter  a  Republic.  In  the  former, 
the  Portuguese  is  spoken  ;  in  the  latter,  the  Spanish.  In  both  there  is  a  love 
for  free  institutions,  a  desire  for  the  maintenance  of  the  same,  and  a  jealousy 
for  everything  that  threatens  their  liberties.  Whilst  Rome  had  complete  pos- 
session of  the  United  States  of  Colombia  from  the  beginning  until  recently, 
efforts  were  put  forth  in  the  early  history  of  Brazil  to  establish  Protestant  insti- 
tutions, but  they  failed  through  the  treachery  of  their  leader,  and  the  persecu- 
tions of  the  Portuguese,  so  that  this  first  evangelistic  movement  of  the  Church 
of  Geneva  and  of  Calvin  was  not  repeated  till  modern  times. 

The  Presbyterian  Church  had  been  anxious  for  some  time  to  enter  this  em- 
pire as  an  inviting  field  for  labor.  At  last  they  were  able  to  send,  in  1859,  one 
laborer  into  it.  Rev.  A.  G.  Simonton,  of  the  Presbytery  of  Carlisle,  sailed 
June  18th,  and  reached  Rio  Janeiro  August  12th,  and  was  welcomed  by  several 
persons.  After  a  careful  examination  of  the  ground,  he  found  the  papers  dis- 
cussing with  much  freedom  the  doctrines  and  practices  of  the  Romish  Church, 
and  a  willingness  to  allow  the  doctrines  of  evangelical  religion  to  be  defended 
in  their  columns.  The  following  statement  as  to  the  religious  condition  of  the 
people  was,  after  this  examination,  made  by  him  : 

"  To  my  mind,  the  most  astonishing  feature  of  the  religious  condition  of 
Brazil  is  its  almost  total  lack  of  all  religion.  Unless  I  am  mistaken,  Brazil  is 
singular  in  this  respect,  even  among  the  most  thoroughly  Roman  Catholic 
nations.  Not  only  has  religion  degenerated  from  being  a  thing  of  conviction 
to  a  mere  habit,  but  it  has  become  a  habit  to  pay  no  attention  to  its  outward 
forms.  The  number  of  church-goers  is  very  small.  Confession  is  falling  into 
disuse.  Priests  are  dissolute,  and  not  unfrequently  scoffers.  A  pure  and 
universal  indifference  seems  to  reign.  The  extremity  of  the  Pope  has  produced 
no  public  prayers,  and  Garibaldi  and  Cavour  are  heroes.  It  is  said  that  no 
people  cap  be  without  a  religion  ;  if  so,  few  nations  can  be  much  more  destitute 
than  Brazil.  There  are  special  occasions,  however,  which  show  that  he  would 
be  greatly  deceived  who  imagined  that  their  religion  is  like  that  which  is  found 
in  Protestant  countries.  At  times  they  become  religious.  One  of  these  times 
is  the  hour  of  death.  Then  the  priest  is  sure  of  employment  and  pay.  Con- 
fession, absolution,  the  sacrament,  and  extreme  unction  are  the  sources  of  trust 
in  that  hour  when  all  men  would  be  religious  if  they  could." 

Rio  Janeiro. — This  was  the  first  station  occupied  by  the  mission.  It  is  the 
capital  of  the  country,  and  is  situated  in  a  province  of  the  same  name  on  an 
extensive  bay.  The  city  is  laid  out  in  squares,  and  the  houses  are  generally 
built  of  granite.     It  contains   a   large  number  of  churches  and  monasteries. 


South  American  Missions.  J 

Its  present  population  is  bordering  on  400,000.  Here  Mr.  Simonton  began 
his  labors,  devoting  the  main  portion  of  his  time  at  first  to  the  acquisition  of 
the  language,  and  endeavoring  at  the  same  time  to  lay  foundations  of  an  im- 
portant work.  He  soon  found  that  the  mass  of  the  people  were  indifferent  to 
all  religion  ;  and  whilst  many  were  opposed  to  the  Church  of  Rome,  they  did 
not  wish  to  investigate  the  claims  of  Protestantism — willing,  however,  yea,  de- 
termined, that  it  should  be  tolerated.  There  was  no  restriction  upon  the  dis- 
tribution of  the  Word  of  God  and  of  a  religious  literature  ;  and  this  mode  of 
reaching  the  people  was  soon  tried  and  has  been  prosecuted  in  one  form  or  an- 
other ever  since.  In  time,  a  semi-monthly  publication,  called  the  Imprensa 
Evangelica,  was  started,  which  has  been  maintained  and  has  exerted  a  great 
influence  for  good. 

The  Rev.  A.  L.  Blackford  and  his  wife  reinforced  this  mission  July,  i860,  and 
the  Rev.  F.  J.  C.  Schneider  December  7,  1861.  The  former  was  associated 
for  some  time  with  Mr.  Simonton ;  the  latter  was  stationed  in  the  province  of 
Sao  Paulo,  where  he  devoted  part  of  his  time  to  German  settlers.  A  church 
was  organized  in  Rio  Janeiro  January  12,  1862,  when  two  persons  were  re- 
ceived on  profession  of  their  faith.  During  the  next  year  eight  persons  were 
received  into  the  communion  of  the  church,  and  from  that  time  the  number  has 
steadily  increased,  and  more  than  200  have  been  added  to  the  communion-roll. 
I^or  years  the  congregation  had  to  worship  in  a  hired  room,  but  through  the 
liberality  of  certain  friends  in  Brazil  and  the  United  States,  and  the  help  of  the 
Board,  a  neat  stone  building  has  been  reared  in  a  central  region,  and  on  the 
same  premises  there  are  a  lecture-room,  a  school-room,  a  book-store,  and  a 
dwelling-house.  A  native  pastor  has  recently  been  installed  over  the  church, 
which  pays  his  salary.  Religious  services  during  the  week  and  on  the  Lord's 
day  are  regularly  maintained,  besides  preaching  in  the  suburbs  of  the  city. 

The  death  of  Mr.  Simonton,  on  December  9,  1867,  was  a  great  loss  to  the 
mission.  He  had  during  the  few  years'  residence  in  the  empire  accomplished 
much  by  his  preaching  and  his  pen,  and  at  a  time  when  he  seemed  best  fitted 
for  efficient  service,  and  when  he  was  considered  so  important  to  the  mission, 
came  his  removal.  Messrs.  Blackford  and  Schneider  occupied  the  capital  after 
his  death.  The  former  until  compelled  to  return  home  on  account  of  sickness 
in  his  family;  the  latter  until  his  removal  to  Bahia.  Besides  these  laborers, 
the  following  have  been  connected  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period  with  this  sta- 
tion :  Rev.  J.  F.  Dagama,  1871-3;  Rev.  E.  Vanorden,  1874-6.  The  present 
force  consists  of  Rev.  R.  Lenington,  Rev.  D.  M.  Hazlett,  and  Rev.  A.  B. 
Trajano. 

Sao  Paulo. — This  was  the  second  station  regularly  occupied  by  the  Board, 
which  took  place  in  October,  1863.  This  city  lies  some  200  miles  to  the 
south-west  of  Rio  Janeiro,  is  the  capital  of  a  province  of  the  same  name,  and 
a  seat  of  one  of  the  leading  law-schools  in  the  Empire.  It  is  beautifully  situ- 
ated on  high  table-land  some  2,000  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  is  an 
important  center  of  operations,  and  has  been  wisely  selected  on  account  of  its 


8  South  American  Missions. 

bearings  on  the  work  in  the  southern  portion  of  the  country.  It  was  first  oc- 
cupied by  Rev.  A.  L.  Blackford,  and  English  service  was  maintained  for  sev- 
eral months  on  the  Sabbath  and  Portuguese  service  was  commenced.  In 
March,  1865,  a  church  was  organized  and  six  persons  were  received  into  its 
communion  on  profession  of  their  faith.  Others  were  soon  added,  and  from 
that  time  the  church  has  had  a  steady  and  healthy  growth.  Mr.  George  W. 
Chamberlain,  then  in  Brazil  for  health,  was  appointed  an  assistant  missionary 
October,  1865,  and  after  the  completion  of  his  studies  at  Princeton  Seminary, 
he  returned  to  Brazil  and  has  been  stationed  at  Sao  Paulo  ever  since.  Rev. 
E.  Pires,  a  native  of  Madeira  and  a  graduate  of  one  of  our  Seminaries,  joined 
this  mission  in  August,  1866,  and,  having  a  knowledge  of  the  Portuguese,  he 
was  able  at  Sao  Paulo,  where  he  was  stationed,  to  begin  direct  missionary  labor 
at  once.  He  was  followed  by  Rev.  Hugh  W.  McKee  the  next  year,  but  his  health 
did  not  allow  him  to  remain  long  in  Brazil.  He  spent  the  remainder  of  his 
days  working  among  the  Portuguese  in  Illinois.  For  a  short  period  Rev.  J. 
M.  de  Conceicao,  the  first  ordained  native  Brazilian,  was  connected  with  Sao 
Paulo.  He  had  been  laboring  as  a  priest  at  Brotas,  but  became  convinced 
that  the  Church  of  Rome  was  corrupt,  and  had  been  trying  to  lead  the  people 
to  a  purer  faith.  He  readily  accepted  the  truth  and  became  an  eloquent 
preacher  of  the  Word  in  his  tours  among  the  towns  and  villages.  He  was 
permitted  to  labor  only  a  short  time,  when  he  was  removed  by  death.  Besides 
the  regular  ministry  of  the  Word,  some  attention  has  been  given  to  education. 
Through  the  active  labors  of  Mr.  Chamberlain  a  building  designed  for  a  train- 
ing-school for  young  men  for  the  ministry  has  been  completed.  It  furnishes 
also  a  preaching  hall  and  other  accommodations  for  the  work.  Other  schools 
have  been  started,  and  it  is  expected  that  a  female  school  of  a  higher  order 
will  soon  be  under  way.  The  laborers  at  present  are  Rev.  Messrs.  Chamber- 
lain and  Howell  and  their  wives  and  Miss  Mary  Chamberlain.  Miss  P. 
Thomas  is  on  her  way  to  join  this  station,  going  out  at  her  own  charges  and 
to  support  herself  while  there. 

Brotas. — This  village,  1 70  miles  north-west  of  Sao  Paulo,  and  formerly  the 
scene  of  Senhor  Conceicao' s  labors,  was  the  third  place  occupied  by  the  mis- 
sion. It  was  visited  by  him  and  by  Mr.  Blackford  in  1863  and  1864,  and 
also  in  1865.  The  journey  to  it  from  Sao  Paulo  was  a  difficult  one,  as  it  was 
over  rough  roads  and  bridle-paths.  On  their  first  visit  they  remained  twenty 
days,  occupied  constantly  in  preaching  the  Word  and  going  from  hamlet  to 
hamlet,  speaking  plainly  to  all  who  would  hear  the  simple  truths  of  the  Gospel. 
On  November  13,  1865,  a  church  was  organized  of  11  persons.  Soon  others 
were  affected  ;  the  worst  characters  were  brought  under  conviction,  and  were 
led  to  Jesus.  For  three  years  this  church  was  dependent  on  occasional  visits 
of  the  missionaries  for  preaching  and  the  administration  of  the  ordinances,  yet 
the  number  of  disciples  continued  to  grow,  and  when  the  Rev.  R.  Lenington 
went  to  reside  there  in  1868,  he  found  a  church  of  over  70  members.  The 
population  in  and  around  Brotas  is  sparse.     Many  of  the  members  live  at  a 


South  American  Missions.  9 

considerable  distance  from  the  church  building,  and  in  some  of  the  hamlets 
there  are  more  communicants  than  in  Brotas.  This  makes  the  field  a  difficult 
one  to  supply  with  ordinances.  The  church  has  more  than  doubled  its  mem- 
bership since  1868.  For  some  years  it  was  under  the  care  of  Mr.  Lenington, 
then  under  Mr.  Dagama,  and  then  for  a  time  under  the  pastorate  of  Rev.  A. 
B.  Trajano — one  of  the  native  ministers  who  was  educated  in  the  mission,  until 
his  transfer  to  Rio  Janeiro.  It  is  now  under  the  superintendence  of  Rev.  J. 
F.  Dagama,  who  has  a  large  field  to  visit  and  to  cultivate. 

Rio  Claro. — When  Mr.  Schneider  went  to  Brazil  it  was  in  part  for  the  Ger- 
mans, who  were  found  in  numbers  in  the  Empire  without  the  stated  means  of 
grace.  As  there  were  several  German  colonies  a  few  hours'  ride  from  Rio 
Claro,  this  was  selected  by  him  as  a  center.  He  soon  found  the  field  a  most 
trying  one.  As  he  would  not  administer  the  sacraments  without  regard  to  the 
moral  condition  and  fitness  of  the  applicant,  he  had  to  encounter  opposition ; 
and  whilst  there  were  some  who  sympathized  with  him  and  his  views,  the  many 
were  satisfied  with  a  chilling  faith  and  the  outward  observance  of  rites.  After 
laboring  among  them  for  a  time  he  returned  to  Rio  Janeiro,  where  he  com- 
menced work  among  the  Brazilians.  This  place  remained  unoccupied  until 
the  removal  of  Mr.  Dagama  from  Brotas,  and  also  Miss  M.  Dascomb,  who  had 
been  carrying  on  a  school  with  much  encouragement  and  success.  This  place 
is  growing  in  population  and  it  is  now  a  religious  center  of  much  importance. 
A  church  was  organized  here  April  16,  1873,  °f  9  members,  which  has  in- 
creased to  52.  An  interesting  school  was  commenced  by  Miss  Dascomb,  who 
was  afterward  joined  by  Miss  Ella  Kuhl.  It  now  numbers  nearly  100  pupils, 
and  is  under  the  charge  of  Miss  Kuhl  and  Miss  Dagama.  A  boarding-school 
on  a  simple  and  economical  basis  for  girls  has  lately  been  started.  Its  object 
is  to  train  those  who  will  be  suited  to  labor  among  their  own  sex.  Besides 
Brotas,  Mr.  Dagama  has  several  other  places  to  visit.  The  little  church  of 
1865,  planted  at  Brotas,  has  now  grown  into  five.  In  this  territory  are  some 
30  preaching-places,  more  than  300  members,  and  1,300  hearers.  The  extreme 
point  in  one  direction  is  160  miles  from  Rio  Claro.  Many  of  the  people  can 
not  read.     Other  laborers  are  needed  for  this  region. 

The  next  church  organized  was  at  Lorena,  a  town  of  about  3,000  inhabitants, 
and  which  lies  some  190  miles  south-west  from  Rio  Janeiro.  It  is  without  a 
pastor — a  large  scope  of  country  is  commanded  by  it.  Other  churches  have 
been  organized  since ;  one  at  Sorocaba,  in  the  province  of  Sao  Paulo,  and 
which  lies  60  miles  to  the  south-west  from  the  city  of  Sao  Paulo.  This  place 
contains  a  population  of  nearly  8;ooo.  The  church  is  supplied  by  a  native 
minister,  Rev.  A.  P.  de  C.  Leite. 

Bahia. — Leaving  the  smaller  churches  that  have  been  established  in  the 
provinces  of  Sao  Paulo  and  Minas  Geraes,  and  going  north,  we  pass  by  Campos, 
a  place  of  some  importance,  lying  about  150  miles  to  the  north-west  of  the 
capital  of  the  Empire,  where  a  church  has  lately  been  organized,  and  which  is 
ministered  to  by  Rev.  M.  P.  B.  Carvalhosa,  we  reach  Ba/iia,  an  important 


io  South  American  Missions. 

seaport  in  the  northern  part  of  the  Empire.  It  is  situated  on  the  Bay  of  All 
Saints,  and  consists  of  two  parts — the  lower  and  the  upper  city.  The  one  is 
built  on  the  bay  for  about  three  miles ;  the  other  on  bluffs,  which  rise  pre- 
cipitously near  the  water's  edge,  to  the  height  of  several  hundred  feet.  It  is 
difficult  to  tell  the  population,  but  those  best  acquainted  with  it  estimate  it 
as  high  as  250,000.  It  was  founded  in  1549,  and  was  the  capital  of  the 
country  until  1771.  The  people  have  been  less  receptive  to  the  truth  than  in 
other  portions  of  Brazil.  It  is  the  residence  of  the  only  archbishop  in  the  Em- 
pire, and  it  is  said  that  there  are  more  friars  and  nuns  in  the  convents  here 
than  are  to  be  found  in  these  institutions  in  all  other  parts  of  the  land.  It 
is  an  immoral  city.  It  was  occupied  as  a  station  by  Rev.  F.  J.  C.  Schneider 
in  1 87 1.  A  small  church  has  been  organized.  Since  he  left,  in  the  spring, 
it  is  without  a  laborer. 

Cachoeira. — This  station  is  fifty  miles  north-west  of  Bahia,  and  work  was 
commenced  here  in  1875,  by  Rev.  J.  T.  Houston.  The  missionary  soon  met 
with  some  encouragement,  so  that  a  church  has  already  been  organized  of 
seven  members. 

There  are  now,  in  connection  with  this  mission,  six  foreign  missionaries  and 
their  wives,  four  unmarried  ladies,  and  four  ordained  native  ministers.  There 
are,  in  the  Presbytery  of  Rio  Janeiro,  seventeen  churches,  with  a  member- 
ship of  nearly  800. 

The  door  is  open  to  the  whole  of  Brazil.  The  people  are  everywhere  ac- 
cessible to  the  truth.  Occasionally  there  have  been  evidences  of  opposition, 
hatred,  and  of  a  persecuting  spirit,  but,  considering  all  things,  these  outbreaks 
have  been  rare.  Freedom  of  worship  is  guaranteed,  and  the  Government  has 
sought  to  maintain  it.  More  men  are  needed  to  meet  the  present  demands  of 
the  work,  and  more  means  to  take  advantage  of  the  new  openings,  and  more 
prayer  to  give  success  to  the  whole  enterprise. 

CHILI. 

This  mission  was  transferred  to  the  Board  by  the- American  Foreign  Christian 
Union,  July  14,  1873,  and  occupies  the  whole  of  the  Republic,  though  at 
present  it  is  confined  to  four  centers.  The  country  is  long  and  narrow.  The 
Government  is  liberal  in  regard  to  education,  and  of  late  years  has  taken  a 
more  decided  stand  as  to  religious  toleration. 

Valparaiso. — This  city  was  occupied  in  1S50,  by  Rev.  D.  Trumbull,  who 
was  sent  thither  by  the  Seaman's  Friend  Society  and  the  American  and 
Foreign  Christian  Union.  This  port,  since  the  independence  of  Chili,  has 
become  of  great  importance  as  a  commercial  center.  Trade  has  greatly  in- 
creased, and  the  city  itself  has  grown  in  population.  Dr.  Trumbull,  though 
only  partially  engaged  as  a  missionary,  as  his  labors  required  him  to  devote 
most  of  his  time  to  the  English-speaking  people  in  the  city,  yet  he  has  done 
much  for  the  Chilians,  having  published  many  newspaper  articles  and  tracts  in 
Spanish.      For  many  years  the  church,  composed  of  foreigners,  has  not  only 


South  American  Missions,  n 

supported  him,  but  has  done,  in  other  ways,  not  a  little  for  the  evangelization 
of  the  people.  Rev.  A.  M.  Merwin  was  sent  out  in  1867  to  Valparaiso  to  take 
charge  of  the  Spanish  work,  and  he  commenced  preaching  in  1868.  A  church 
was  organized  in  1869,  and  numbers  nearly  30.  The  congregation  ranges 
from  60  to  100.  The  Sabbath- school  has  over  40  pupils.  ''  In  this  work," 
says  Mr.  Merwin,  "  we  are  aided  by  several  English-speaking  people.  Most 
gratifying  progress  has  been  witnessed  among  some  who  have  confessed  Christ 
during  the  last  few  years,  and  some,  out  of  much  tribulation,  social  and  spiritual, 
have  recently  entered  Christ's  kingdom  on  earth."  A  good  lady-teacher,  for 
boarding  and  day-school,  is  needed  ;  also  a  church  edifice.  The  people  are 
worshiping  in  a  lecture-room  in  an  out-of-the-way  place. 

Santiago. — This  is  the  capital  of  the  Republic,  and  is  situated  on  a  plain 
nearly  2,000  feet,  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  is  considered  one  of  the  finest 
cities  on  this  continent  as  regards  buildings,  convenience,  and  health.  It  was 
first  occupied  by  Rev.  N.  P.  Gilbert  in  1861,  who,  in  the  midst,  at  first,  of  many 
discouragements  from  foreigners  and  natives,  persevered  until  he  was  able  to 
organize  a  church  and  erect  a  building  in  a  central  position  and  well  adapted 
to  the  congregation.  When  Mr.  Gilbert  retired  from  the  field  in  18  71  he  was 
succeeded  by  Rev.  Ibanez-Guzman,  a  native  of  the  country,  and  who  continued 
to  labor  here  till  his  death  in  1876.  The  Rev.  S.  J.  Christen  is  now  stationed 
at  this  place.  He  is  devoting  part  of  his  time  to  the  education  of  youth.  Be- 
sides preaching  on  the  Sabbath,  he  has  Sabbath-school  and  a  weekly  service  on 
Wednesday  evening.  A  Young  Men's  Christian  Association  has  been  formed, 
and  the  members  come  together  regularly  for  the  study  of  the  Bible,  and  of 
practical  themes  connected  with  it.  Seven  have  been  received  on  profes- 
sion since  September,  when  the  station  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Christen. 

Copiapo. — This  is  a  mining  town,  400  miles  north  of  Valparaiso,  and  has  a 
population  of  some  15,000.  Rev.  S.  Sayre  labored  at  this  place  before  his 
departure  for  the  United  States.     There  is  no  missionary  here  at  present. 

Talca. — This  place  lies  to  the  south  of  Santiago,  and  was  occupied  by  Mr. 
Sayre  for  a  time.  He  organized  the  church,  which  has  a  membership  of  15 
Rev.  S.  W.  Curtiss  and  his  wife,  who  joined  this  mission  in  the  fall  of  1875,  are 
laboring  at  this  point.  "  The  Papists  of  Talca  are  more  bigoted  in  their  devo- 
tion to  their  Church  than  those  at  Santiago  and  Valparaiso.  Both  sexes  attend, 
in  Talca,  the  churches  in  great  numbers,  while,  in  the  other  cities,  the  men  are, 
to  a  large  extent,  sceptical  and  indifferent."  The  membership  in  the  four 
Spanish  churches  is  about  90. 

The  field  is  becoming  an  encouraging  one.  Prominent  men  are  in  sym- 
pathy with  Protestantism,  and  the  President  of  the  Republic  has,  in  various 
ways,  identified  himself  with  the  cause  of  truth.  On  the  other  hand,  the  rising 
generation  are  gradually  drifting  into  infidelity.  New  laborers  are  greatly 
needed. 


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51 


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CHINA    MISSION. 


The  Church  of  the  Lord  Jesus  in  its  earthly  state  is  militant.  It  has  not 
only  to  maintain  its  own  existence  by  aggression  upon  others,  but  it  has  to 
seek  their  subjugation  by  tne  power  of  the  truth,  and  enlist  them  in  like  serv- 
ice in  seeking  the  conversion  of  those  who  are  arrayed  against  the  kingdom  of 
Christ.  In  this  way  the  nations  are  to  be  made  acquainted  with  Christianity, 
and  the  people  who  sit  in  darkness  are  to  see  a  great  light. 

To  accomplish  these  great  ends,  the  Church  must  know  the  strength  of  the 
enemy,  the  obstacles  in  the  way,  and  the  best  modes  of  meeting  and  over- 
coming the  opposing  forces.  Though  men  are  everywhere  by  nature  hostile 
to  God  and  to  the  kingdom  of  His  dear  Son,  yet  their  hostility  assumes  various 
forms.  With  these,  Christians  must  be  conversant,  so  as  to  wage  a  successful 
warfare  against  them. 

Missions,  then,  are  not  simply  the  Church  in  action,  or  engaged  in  close 
contest  with  the  powers  of  evil,  but  they  are  means  of  communicating  to  those 
at  home  the  resources  of  the  foe  and  what  is  needed  for  his  overthrow.  Mis- 
sions have,  then,  a  double  object — to  awaken  and  stimulate  the  Church  to  the 
grandest  endeavors,  and  to  overcome  evil,  wherever  found,  by  the  force  of 
Divine  truth. 

In  no  country  is  the  population  so  great  and  the  territory  so  vast  as  in 
China,  and  nowhere  is  there  such  a  field  for  evangelistic  labor  and  conquest. 
Its  area  covers  nearly  one-tenth  of  the  habitable  globe,  and  its  inhabitants 
make  up  almost  one-third  of  the  human  race.  For  a  while  these  figures 
seemed  incredible,  and  were  deemed  by  many  as  fanciful  and  as  put  forth  by 
the  Chinese  simply  for  their  self-glorification  ;  but  they  have  stood  the  test  of 
time  and  of  a  thorough  investigation  as  to  their  truthfulness. 

The  Chinese  Empire  is  about  four  times  larger  than  China  proper.  The 
former  takes  in  Manchouria,  Mongolia,  Turkestan,  etc.,  and  has  an  area  one- 
third  greater  than  Europe  ;  the  latter,  embracing  simply  the  eighteen  provinces, 
is  only  about  one-third  the  size  of  Europe,  and  in  this  territory  are  massed 
chiefly  the  400,000,000  of  the  Empire.  Without  endeavoring  to  grasp  in 
thought  this  vast  multitude,  let  us  suppose  that  they  were  scattered  equally 
over  the  world  according  to  population,  it  would  then  happen  that  every  third 
person  would  be  a  Chinaman,  and  this  go  where  we  would.  This  single  fact 
gives  some  idea  of  the  populousness  of  that  country  and  the  numbers  that  are 
to  be  brought  under  the  power  of  the  cross. 


China  Mission.  3 

m 

In  many  of  its  features  China  bears  a  strong  resemblance  to  the  United 
States — such  as  configuration  of  country,  varieties  of  climate  and  productions, 
and  lying  almost  within  the  same  parallels  of  latitude.  It  is  as  rich  in  soil  and 
richer  in  mineral  resources.  Its  coal-fields  are  the  largest  in  the  world,  and  side 
by  side  with  these  is  found  abundance  of  iron  ore.  The  precious  metals  exist  in 
most  of  the  provinces,  and  in  some  portions  in  great  profusion.  There  is  a 
great  diversity  of  climate  in  its  valleys  and  mountains,  and  there  is  scarcely 
an  article  which  grows  in  any  part  of  the  world  but  would  grow  in  one  portion 
or  other  of  China. 

Turning  from  these  features  of  soil  and  climate  to  the  people  in  their  social 
and  religious  life,  and  we  will  be  better  prepared  to  understand  the  difficulties 
in  the  way  of  their  evangelization  and  their  needs  of  a  better  system  of  faith 
than  any  they  have  yet  embraced. 

SOCIAL    LIFE. 

For  centuries,  yea,  we  may  say  for  millenniums,  they  have  been  molded  and 
influenced  by  the  religions  still  dominant  and  by  practices  growing  out  of  them. 
Their  present  immobility  of  mind,  lack  of  enterprise  and  skill  in  invention, 
their  clinging  with  a  death-grip  to  old  customs  and  methods,  and  their  dislike 
to  anything  foreign  and  novel,  contrasts  strangely  with  their  wonderful  devel- 
opment and  progress  in  former  days.  In  many  of  the  arts  and  sciences  they 
were  far  in  advance  of  Western  nations.  Printing,  paper-making,  the  com- 
pass, gunpowder,  fire-arms,  and  the  manufacturing  of  silk  fabrics,  were  all 
known  to  them  before  they  were  discovered  elsewhere.  Their  carving  in  wood 
and  ivory,  their  porcelain  and  china-ware,  show  that  they  are  not  surpassed  in 
these  by  any  other  people.  Whilst  all  this  is  true,  they  have  been  content 
with  the  perfection  attained,  and  for  centuries  they  have  sought  no  improve- 
ment in  culture  and  civilization,  and  have  steadfastly  resisted  all  innovations. 
This  has  had  a  crushing  effect  upon  their  intellectual,  social,  and  moral  natures. 
They  live  in  the  past.  Their  golden  age  has  gone,  and  they  are  content  with 
the  greatness  and  fame  of  their  fathers.  Filled  with  pride  and  prejudice,  they 
resist  Western  ideas  and  inventions,  and  violently  oppose  the  introduction  of 
railroads,  telegraphs,  etc.  All  who  live  outside  of  their  own  Empire  are  bar- 
barians or  foreign  devils,  and  as  such  they  are  necessarily  inferior  to  them- 
selves. 

The  family  relation  is  highly  honored  among  the  people,  and  especially 
parental  authority.  One  of  their  writers  sums  up  moral  and  religious  duty  in 
this  manner  :  "  The  richest  fruit  of  love  is  this— the  obeying  of  one's  parents; 
the  richest  fruit  of  righteousness  is  this— the  obeying  of  one's  elder  brother ; 
the  richest  fruit  of  wisdom  is  this — the  knowing  these  two  things  and  not 
departing  from  them."  Confucius  laid  it  down  as  a  prime  doctrine  that  filial 
piety  is  the  root  of  virtue,  and  the  stock  on  which  all  excellence  is  to  be 
grafted.  What  is  thus  inculcated  is  largely  practiced.  Children  reverence 
their  parents  while  living  and  honor  them  when  dead.     Ancestral  worship  is* 


4  China  Mission. 

everywhere  prevalent.  The  main  object  of  this  is  to  supply  the  dead  with 
such  things  as  will  be  needed  by  them  in  the  spirit  world.  Ancestral  tablets 
are  found  in  every  house  in  China,  and  much  superstition  is  connected  with 
them  and  with  the  honors  paid  to  the  dead. 

Though  this  duty  has  such  a  hold  upon  the  masses,  and  is  recognized  by  all 
classes,  yet  the  home  of  the  Chinese  is  very  different  from  what  that  word 
means  in  Christian  lands.  Discomfort  reigns,  love  is  often  absent,  and  untidi- 
ness exists.  The  position  of  woman,  from  the  cause  mentioned,  is  higher 
than  in  most  heathen  lands.  Still,  she  does  not  enjoy  social  equality.  With 
rare  exceptions,  her  mental  training  is  neglected.  Strongly,  but  no  doubt 
truly,  does  a  writer  say,  "  The  condition  of  the  women  is  the  blackest  spot  on 
Chinese  civilization."  Nowhere  in  heathen  lands  is  woman  placed  and  treated 
where  her  noblest  qualities  can  be  developed,  and  this  is  true  of  China.  She 
occupies  morally,  as  well  as  socially,  a  low  position. 

MORALS    OF   THE    PEOPLE. 

Heathenism  can  never  produce  a  high  type  of  morality.  Here  and  there 
may  be  men  who  stand  out  as  moralists,  and  whose  writings  inculcate  fine 
religious  sentiments,  but  these,  from  the  very  nature  of  the  case,  are  pervaded 
by  error  and  superstition.  Confucius  and  Buddh  taught  many  noble  truths, 
but  with  them  doctrines  that  neutralized  their  power  and  that  interfered  with 
the  spiritual  elevation  of  the  masses.  Idolatry  can  never  elevate  man.  With 
it  are  associated  vices  and  glaring  evils  that  keep  its  votaries  in  hopeless  bond- 
age. Rev.  M.  J.  Knowlton  says:  " Avariciousness  sways  the  heart  of  all 
classes,  from  the  highest  to  the  lowest.  There  is  no  mode  of  deception  and 
fraud,  no  trick  nor  art  in  trade,  no  quackery  nor  jugglery,  in  which  the  Chi- 
nese are  not  perfect  adepts.  Deception  and  lying  are  so  common,  that  they 
have  almost  lost  the  consciousness  that  they  are  wrong.  Backbiting  and 
quarreling,  slandering  and  cursing,  intrigues  and  broils,  are  universal.  Pilfer- 
ing and  theft ;  robbery,  extortion,  and  piracy  j  suicide,  infanticide,  and  mur- 
der ;  lotteries,  gambling-shops,  opium  dens  and  brothels,  are  very  common. 
In  short,  the  description  given  in  Romans  of  the  moral  condition  of  the 
heathen  is  true  to  the  letter,  as  applied  to  the  Chinese."  It  is,  then,  evident 
that  the  religions  embraced  by  them  have  not  made  and  kept  them  virtuous, 
or  made  them  strong  in  principle  and  devout  and  pure  in  character.  Their 
condition  is  an  urgent  plea  for  evangelistic  labor,  but  it  is  also  a  mighty  obsta- 
cle to  its  success. 

■   RELIGIONS. 

There  are  three  dominant  systems — Confucianism,  Taouism,  and  Buddhism 
— though  a  fourth,  Mohammedanism,  abounds  in  certain  districts.  These  three 
exist  side  by  side,  and  are  believed  in,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent,  by  almost 
the  entire  nation.  The  first  derives  its  name  from  Confucius,  who  flourished 
about  500  B.C.,  and  built  up  a  system  on  th*  moral  sayings  and  doings  of  the 


China  Mission.  5 

ancients.  Taouism  was  the  work  of  a  Chinese  philosopher,  a  cotemporary 
with  Confucius,  and  though  called  "  rationalism,"  it  is  largely  a  system  of 
sorcery.  Buddhism  was  not  introduced  into  China  until  the  first  century  of  the 
Christian  Era,  and  seems,  with  its  varied  rites,  feasts,  and  doctrines,  to  be  suited 
to  the  people.  Confucianism  is  the  religion  of  the  State  and  of  the  educated 
classes,  but  so  accommodating  are  the  Chinese  in  matters  of  worship,  that  it 
is  common  for  the  same  persons  to  profess  and  perform  the  religious  rites 
of  all  three.  Idolatry  is  allied  with  each  of  these.  The  country  is  full  of 
idol  temples,  and  it  is  said  that  it  is  easier  to  find  a  god  than  a  man,  and  yet 
the  Chinese  are  truly  described  as  "a  nation  of  atheists,"  as  they  are  really 
an  irreligious  people.  This  conjunction  of  religious  systems  supplementing 
each  other,  suited  by  their  varying  peculiarities  to  the  tastes  and  wishes  of 
their  votaries,  and  influencing  public  and  private  life,  create  a  fearful  obstacle 
to  the  Gospel.  What  one  lacks  the  other  supplies,  and  each  is  regarded  as 
necessary  and  useful.  Atheism  and  idolatry,  spiritualism  and  materialism, 
fasts  and  feasts,  are  believed  in  and  observed  by  the  same  individuals.  Such 
a  combination  interferes  greatly  with  the  reception  of  the  truth  or  even  an 
acknowledgment  of  its  claims. 

LANGUAGE. 

Here  we  find  unity  in  diversity.  One  yet  many  languages.  The  spoken 
dialects  throughout  the  Empire  are  many  ;  the  written  language,  known  and 
read  in  all  parts,  is  one.  The  language  of  books  is,  then,  very  different  from 
that  used  in  conversation.  The  former  is  everywhere  the  same  ;  the  latter 
numbers  some  two  or  three  hundred.  The  colloquial  at  Canton  is  very  differ- 
ent from  that  spoken  at  Ningpo,  and  that  used  in  Shanghai  is  unintelligible  in 
Peking.  The  language  is  monosyllabic  ;  that  is,  every  syllable  is  a  distinct 
word,  and  the  number  is  said  to  be  about  500.  The  characters  formed  from 
these  are  manifold.  In  Kang-hi's  Dictionary  are  47,000  characters.  Dr.  S. 
Wells  Williams'  Dictionary  contains  about  12,000.  In  the  Bible  4,000  char- 
acters are  used,  and  5,000  are  all  that  are  necessary  for  a  scholar.  The  labor 
is  not  simply  to  master  so  many  syllables  or  so  many  characters,  but  to  under- 
stand the  tones  and  aspirates,  as  upon  the  proper  rendering  of  these  is  the 
true  meaning  of  the  word.  Says  a  writer  :  "  The  monosyllable  pang  in  the 
colloquial  of  Amoy,  may  be  uttered  in  ten  different  ways,  and  according  to 
the  utterance  may  mean — to  help,  to  spin,  to  bind,  to  let  go,  corpulent,  a  bee, 
a  room,  a  sail,  a  club,  a  scare."  A  missionary  visiting  a  family  who  were 
mourning  the  death  of  a  near  relation,  wished  to  ask  whether  they  had 
buried  the  corpse  ;  using  the  right  word,  he  misplaced  the  aspirate,  and  asked 
whether  they  had  murdered  their  relative.  Now,  as  the  written  characters  are 
the  same,  just  as  the  numerals  1,  2,  3,  etc.,  are  the  same  in  the  different  coun- 
tries in  Europe,  but  as  each  nation  has  its  own  way  of  pronouncing  them 
which  may  be  unintelligible  to  others ;  thus,  for  the  numeral  3,  the  English 
say  three,  the  French  trots,  the  German  drei,  etc.,  and  yet  each  one  means  the 


6  China  Mission. 

same  symbol.  So  it  is  the  same  in  China  as  to  the  sounds  of  the  written 
characters.  It  is  then  evident  from  this  simple  reference  to  the  language  and 
to  the  necessary  difficulty  in  its  acquisition,  that  it  is  a  great  barrier  in  the  way 
of  the  missionary. 

OPIUM. 

This  is  another  and  fearful  obstacle  to  the  truth.  The  introduction  of  opium 
into  China  was  begun  by  the  Portuguese,  and  was  soon  afterwards  carried  on 
by  the  English,  and  from  that  date,  covering  about  ioo  years,  it  has  been  a 
source  of  revenue  to  the  Anglo-Indian  government.  For  many  years  the 
trade  was  contraband,  and  various  attempts  were  made  by  the  Chinese  authori- 
ties to  stop  it.  It  grew  in  volume  in  spite  of  edicts  and  the  most  strenuous 
efforts  to  check  it.  Out  of  these  grew  complications,  and  then  war  with  En- 
gland, and  as  a  consequence  of  this  its  introduction  into  the  country  was  legal- 
ized in  1858.  To  the  honor  of  the  Chinese  government  they  resisted  this 
legalization  until  vanquished  ;  to  the  dishonor  of  England,  her  representatives 
forced  it  upon  them  in  spite  of  all  remonstrance.  Its  degrading  and  demoral- 
izing effect  upon  the  people  socially,  intellectually,  and  morally,  is  fearful. 
"  It  destroys,"  says  a  Chinaman,  "  all  principles  of  integrity  and  every  energy 
which  the  Deity  has  bestowed  on  man,  and  that  for  it  men  will  sell  their  chil- 
dren and  pawn  their  wives.  No  language  can  describe  the  horrors  which 
result  from  its  use."  .  .  .  The  use  of  this  drug,  and  the  fact  that  it  is  brought 
into  their  country  by  a  Christian  Government,  are  serious  hindrances  to  the 
reception  of  the  Gospel.  "  Why,"  said  a  Chinaman  addressing  a  missionary, 
"do  Christians  bring  us  opium  in  defiance  of  our  laws  ?  This  vile  drug  poi- 
soned my  son,  ruined  my  brother,  and  well-nigh  led  me  to  beggar  myself  and 
my  children."  The  feelings  of  this  class  are  thus  epitomized  by  Bishop  Smith  : 
11  Surely  it  is  impossible  that  men  who  bring  in  this  infatuating  poison  that 
makes  the  talented  man  an  idiot,  the  strong  man  a  shattered,  nervous  wreck  ; 
that  brings  many  to  an  untimely  grave,  and  makes  wives  widows  and  children 
fatherless,  can  either  wish  me  well  or  do  me  good." 

Considering  these  various  obstacles  as  they  exist  in  China — obstacles  that 
spring  from  national  character  and  life  in  their  imagined  superiority  and  pride  ; 
in  their  clinging  to  the  past  and  their  aversion  to  all  innovations  ;  in  the  low 
state  of  morals  ;  in  their  disregard  for  truth  and  honor  ;  in  their  feeble  con- 
ceptions of  moral  principles,  and  their  adherence  to  religious  opinions  that 
injure  heart  and  life  ;  in  their  vicious  indulgences  and  degrading  superstitions, 
and  we  have  enough  almost  to  appal  faith  itself,  and  to  lead  God's  children  to 
falter  in  any  attempt  to  bring  such  hearts  and  lives  into  sympathy  with  the 
truth.  But  when  we  conjoin  to  these  others  springing  from  the  acts  of  Chris- 
tian nations  that  prejudice,  embitter,  and  imbrute  mind  and  heart,  and  those 
which  are  presented  in  the  acquisition  of  the  language,  and  we  have  enough 
to  show  that  nothing  but  a  supernatural  Bower  can  overcome  these  hindrances  ; 
that  those  who  are  there  preaching  the  Gospel  to  the  people,  are  engaged  in 


China  Mission.  y 

a  most  difficult  and  arduous  work,  and  that  they  need  the  sympathy,  prayers, 
and  support  of  all  who  love  the  Lord  Jesus. 

MISSIONS. 

China  was  hermetically  sealed  to  missionary  effort  till  1842,  when  it  was 
opened  at  a  few  ports  at  the  close  of  the  war  with  England.  There  were  mis- 
sionaries in  China  and  to  the  Chinese  prior  to  this,  but  those  that  were  in  the 
Empire  were  there  not  by  treaty  rights,  and  those  that  were  outside,  as  in  the 
Straits,  were  there  endeavoring  to  reach  the  Chinese  with  the  Word,  and  pre- 
paring to  enter  into  the  country  when  permission  was  granted.  In  1807  the 
first  Protestant  missionary  reached  Canton  in  the  person  of  Robert  Morrison, 
who  was  known  to  the  people  as  an  agent  of  the  East  India  Company,  and 
not  as  an  ambassador  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Unable  to  preach  the  Gospel  pub- 
licly, he  was  accustomed  to  hold  secret  meetings  with  a  few  natives,  and  with 
locked  doors.  He  devoted  much  of  his  time  to  the  translation  of  the  Scrip- 
tures. After  six  years'  labor  he  was  joined  by  Rev.  W.  Milne,  but  he  was 
not  permitted  to  remain.  He  therefore  took  up  his  abode,  in  18 15,  in  Ma- 
lacca, and  now  these  two  laborers,  though  separated,  toiled  for  the  same 
object — the  conversion  of  the  people  to  Christ.  The  work  of  preparation 
was  slow,  still  Morrison  was  permitted  to  baptize  in  18 14  the  first  convert, 
who  continued  steadfast  in  the  faith  till  his  death.  The  English  missionaries, 
till  1838,  settled  in  the  Straits  at  different  points  ;  but  the  first  American  mis- 
sionaries, Bridgman  and  Abeel,  in  1830  went  direct  to  China,  and  there  re- 
mained. Till  the  opening  of  the  five  ports  in  1842,  four  missionaries  in  all 
went  to  Canton,  eight  to  Macao,  a  Portuguese  settlement  near  to  Canton,  and 
forty- six  to  the  Archipelago,  from  which  those  then  at  work  among  the  Chi- 
nese, when  permission  was  granted,  were  transferred  to  China,  while  others 
from  various  missionary  societies  followed,  and  these  labored  at  the  five  cities 
and  in  Hong-Kong  till  i860,  when  ten  other  ports  were  open,  which  have 
since  been  increased.  So  that  it  may  be  said  that  now  the  countless  myriads 
of  China  are  accessible  to  the  missionary. 

OUR    MISSIONS. 

These  began  at  Singapore  in  1838,  on  the  arrival  of  Rev.  R.  W.  Orr  and 
Rev.  J.  A.  Mitchell.  They  were  followed  by  Rev.  T.  L.  McBryde,  in  1840, 
James  C.  Hepburn,  M.D.,  in  1841,  and  Rev.  Walter  M.  Lovvrie,  in  1842. 
Mr.  Mitchell  was  soon  called  to  his  rest,  and  Mr.  Orr  was  compelled  in  1840 
to  leave  his  field  on  account  of  failure  of  health,  and  Mr.  McBryde,  for  the 
same  reason,  returned  home  in  1843.  During  the  next  two  years  the  Church 
showed  her  interest  in  China,  and  her  readiness  to  give  her  sons  and  daughters 
to  the  work,  as  in  this  period  she  sent  to  this  field  Dr.  McCartee  and  Mr. 
Cole,  a  printer,  and  Rev.  Messrs.  Way,  Culbertson,  Loomis,  and  their  wives, 
and  Rev.  Messrs.  Lloj-d,  Happer,  and  Brown.     Of  these,  only  two  are  now  in 


China  Mission.  9 

the  service  of  the  Board — Dr.  Loomis  at  San  Francisco,  and  Dr.  Happer  at 
Canton. 

Three  stations  were  soon  established — Ningpo,  1844  ;  Amoy,  1845,  anc^ 
Canton,  1845.  Amoy  was  abandoned  in  1848.  Since  that  the  following 
points  have  been  occupied  :  Shanghai,  1850;  Hangchow,  1859;  Tungchow, 
1861  ;  Chefoo,  1862;  Peking,  1863;  Soochow,  1871  ;  Chenanfou,  1872; 
Nanking,  1875. 

CANTON    MISSION. 

Canton. — This  is  the  most  southerly  station  of  the  Board,  and  has  been 
occupied  since  1845.  It  is  the  capital  of  the  Kwangtung  province,  and  was 
for  a  long  time  the  principal  emporium  of  foreign  commerce.  It  is  one  of  the 
largest  and  wealthiest  cities  of  the  Empire.  Its  population  is  about  1,000,000. 
For  a  long  time  the  people  manifested  a  most  unfriendly  spirit  toward  for- 
eigners, and  on  this  account  it  has  been  a  most  difficult  field  to  cultivate. 
Owing  to  this  animosity  the  seat  of  the  mission  had  to  be  at  Macao  at  first,  as 
the  missionaries  were  unable  to  obtain  a  residence  in  the  city.  In  1846 
Messrs.  Happer,  Speer,  and  French  constituted  the  mission.  A  boarding- 
school  was  at  once  begun,  and  in  it  were  soon  gathered  nineteen  boys.  With 
the  acquisition  of  the  language  came  preaching  to  the  people  and  the  distribu- 
tion of  the  Scriptures  and  tracts.  In  185 1  a  dispensary  was  opened,  and  soon 
became  an  interesting  sphere  of  missionary  influence.  This  was  under  the 
management  of  Dr.  Happer  till  the  arrival  of  Dr.  Kerr  in  1854,  when  it 
gradually  became  enlarged,  and  has  been  an  important  department  of  mission 
labor  ever  since.  Near  the  close  of  1856,  in  consequence  of  hostilities 
between  the  Chinese  and  British,  the  dwelling-houses  of  the  missionaries,  with 
much  valuable  property,  were  destroyed,  the  schools  were  broken  up,  and  all 
evangelistic  efforts  were  suspended.  The  laborers  then  on  the  ground — 
Messrs.  French,  Preston,  and  Kerr — retired  to  Macao,  and  they  were  unable 
to  resume  missionary  work  till  1858.  In  November  of  that  year  Mr.  French  was 
removed  by  death,  and  in  1859  Dr.  Happer  returned  to  Canton  from  a  visit 
to  the  United  States.  In  i860  Rev.  I.  M.  Condit  and  his  wife  joined  this 
mission.  The  missionaries  year  after  year  continued  to  preach  and  to  teach 
all  who  could  be  brought  under  their  influence.  Schools  for  boys  and  girls 
were  established,  chapels  opened,  and  various  ministries  in  hospital  and  else- 
where employed,  but  no  fruits  of  all  their  efforts  appeared.  Dr.  Happer  was, 
however,  privileged  to  baptize  a  native  woman  in  October,  1861,  and  soon 
afterwards  four  more  persons  were  baptized.  This  led  to  the  formation  of  a 
church  in  January,  1862,  which  consisted  of  seven  native  members  ;  this 
number  increased  the  next  year  to  thirteen.  In  1865  the  number  enrolled 
was  twenty;  in  1870,  thirty-three  are  reported;  in  1875,  two  churches  were 
organized  with  a  membership  of  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight,  of  whom  forty- 
two  were  received  in  that  mission  year.  This  cheering  increase  has  continued. 
About  fifty  have  been  added  to  the  first  church  the  past  year,  bringing  the 


io  China  Mission. 

total  membership  to  nearly  two  hundred.  Some  of  these  Christians  have  had 
to  brave  persecutions  for  their  faith,  but  they  have  willingly  borne  all,  that  they 
might  show  their  sincerity  and  the  power  of  Divine  grace. 

The  work  as  carried  on  at  this  station  and  five  outstations  by  the  three 
missionaries,  one  medical  missionary,  and  two  unmarried  ladies,  is  the  care  of 
the  native  churches  ;  preaching  in  the  chapels,  attendance  upon  the  hospital, 
and  preaching  at  times  to  the  patients,  who  numbered  the  past  year — out- 
door patients,  17,577;  in-door  patients,  915;  the  training  of  young  men  in 
the  boarding-schools  ;  the  education  of  the  young  in  day-schools  ;  the  care  of 
the  girls'  boarding-school,  and  work  among  women.  There  are  in  connection 
with  this  mission  twenty-four  native  laborers,  who  are  preaching,  teaching,  and 
going  from  house  to  house  with  the  Word.  Some  of  these  labor  at  the  out- 
stations. Dr.  Kerr  has  lately  returned  home,  and  his  place  has  been  supplied 
by  Dr.  Carrow.  The  present  missionaries  are  Rev.  Messrs.  Happer,  D.D., 
Preston,  Noyes,  and  Henry,  and  their  wives;  Miss  Hattie  Noyes,  Miss  Mat- 
tie  Noyes,  and  Miss  Lucy  A.  Crouch. 

NINGPO    MISSION. 

Ningpo. — This  city,  said  to  contain,  with  its  suburbs,  a  population  of  400,- 
000,  is  situated  on  the  Ningpo  river,  about  twelve  miles  from  the  sea.  It  is 
the  capital  of  a  department  of  the  same  name,  and  is  in  the  province  of  Che- 
Keang.  It  is  on  the  same  parallel  of  latitude  as  New  Orleans.  This  city  was 
one  of  the  five  ports  opened  to  foreigners,  and  was  occupied  as  a  station  of 
the  Board  in  1844.  It  was  first  visited  by  Dr.  McCartee  and  by  Rev.  Richard 
Q.  Way  and  wife.  They  were  followed  by  Rev.  Walter  M.  Lowrie,  Rev.  M. 
S.  Culbertson,  and  A.  W.  Loomis  and  their  wives.  Mr.  Richard  Cole  trans- 
ferred the  press  from  Macao  to  Ningpo.  A  church  was  soon  organized  con- 
sisting of  ten  members,  three  of  whom  were  Chinese.  One  was  a  young  man 
who  came  with  Mr.  Way  from  Singapore,  and  was  baptized  as  the  first  fruits 
of  the  mission  to  China.  The  others  were  Chinese  girls  who  had  been  bap- 
tized in  Java.  A  boarding-school  was  established  under  favorable  circum- 
stances, and  twenty-three  boys  were  received.  In  1846  Rev.  John  W.  Quar- 
terns n  joined  this  mission.  During  this  year  the  fourth  native  convert  and 
the  first  from  Ningpo,  was  baptized.  The  school  was  enlarged  to  thirty 
scholars.  A  girls'  boarding-school  was  also  commenced,  and  was  placed  under 
the  care  of  Mrs.  Loomis,  which  soon  numbered  sixteen  pupils.  These  schools, 
supported  by  Sabbath-schools  and  friends  in  our  own  country,  have  proved 
one  of  the  most  efficient  evangelistic  agencies.  From  them  came  first  a  large 
proportion  of  the  church  members  at  Ningpo,  and  these,  in  turn,  became  effect- 
ive laborers  in  the  mission  in  leading  others  to  Christ  and  in  establishing 
churches  at  outstations.  These  scholars  were  instructed  in  the  different 
branches  of  study  and  in  Christian  truth  in  their  own  language.  This  mission 
has  been  greatly  prospered.  Early  in  its  history  itinerations  into  the  surround- 
ing country  were  begun  in  five  different  villages,  and  these  were  continued,  and 


China  Mission.  n 

the  number  of  places  enlarged,  until  churches  were  organized  and  a  native 
ministry  placed  over  them.  The  people  were  not  only  more  willing  to  hear 
the  truth  than  the  Cantonese,  but  were  more  ready  to  embrace  it.  One  of 
the  first  pupils  received  into  the  school  at  Ningpo  in  1845,  ls  novv  pastor  of 
the  Yu-Yiao  church  on  the  Ningpo  plain.  This  church  has  no  members.  A 
second  church,  an  offshoot  of  this,  was  organized  at  Tsen-Hong,  ten  miles 
from  Yu-Yiao,  with  forty  members.  The  first  pastor  of  the  Yu-Yiao  church 
was  also  a  pupil  at  the  boarding-school.  After  he  was  ready  to  take  charge 
of  this  organization,  he  was  ordained  in  1864.  There  were  then  only  four 
persons  connected  with  it.  Soon  a  blessing  rested  upon  his  labors,  and  at  the 
first  communion  twenty  applied  for  baptism — of  these  fifteen  were  admitted 
to  sealing  ordinances.  In  less  than  three  years  there  were  enrolled  eighty 
members  in  full  communion,  and  there  were  at  the  time  of  his  death,  in 
August,  1866,  about  twenty  inquirers.  The  six  churches  on  the  plain  have 
now  a  membership  of  300,  where  fourteen  years  ago  there  were  only  some  six 
converts,  and  in  the  whole  mission,  with  Ningpo  as  a  base,  there  are  now  thir- 
teen outstations  and  a  membership  of  about  600.  In  the  sixteenth  year  of 
the  mission  the  number  reported  in  connection  with  the  church  was  nineteen. 
These,  in  the  next  fifteen  years,  have  multiplied  over  thirty-fold,  and  the 
prospect  for  an  enlarged  ingathering  is  quite  encouraging,  as  many  of  the 
private  members  are  true  evangelists. 

The  printing-press  was  removed  from  Macao  to  Ningpo  in  1845,  and  in 
i860  it  was  transferred  to  Shanghai,  where  it  remains.  This  has  grown  to  be 
the  largest  printing  establishment  in  China,  and,  perhaps,  the  largest  mission 
press  in  Asia.  Its  success  has  been  owing,  in  part,  to  the  use  of  metallic 
types,  by  which  a  small  number  of  characters  only  are  needed.  It  was  found 
that  the  Chinese  characters,  which  are  so  many  thousands,  could  be  classified 
into  the  "  divisible  "  and  "  indivisible."  The  former  could  be  reduced  into 
their  simplest  elements,  which,  when  "  struck  off  as  types,  could  be  recom- 
posed  in  different  characters,  so  that  a  comparatively  small  number  would 
serve  to  denote  most  of  the  characters  in  common  use." 

The  medical  services  of  Dr.  McCartee  had  considerable  influence  in  mak- 
ing known  the  Gospel,  and  in  creating  a  friendly  feeling  among  the  people  to 
missionaries.  Many  came  to  the  hospital  from  a  distance,  who  not  only  heard 
the  truth,  but  who  carried  it  away  with  them  to  their  homes  in  a  printed  form. 

This  Mission  was  greatly  afflicted  in  the  sudden  and  unexpected  death  of 
Rev.  Walter  M.  Lowrie  by  the  hands  of  pirates,  which  took  place  August 
19,  1847,  as  he  was  returning  from  Shanghai,  where  he  had  spent  some  time 
in  revising  with  others  the  Chinese  translation  of  the  Scriptures.  His  removal 
was  a  great  loss  to  the  cause,  as  he  was  admirably  fitted  for  the  various  depart- 
ments of  mission-work. 

In  1849  and  1850  this  Mission  was  strengthened  by  the  following  mission- 
aries :  Rev.  Joseph  K.  Wight,  Rev.  H.  V.  Rankin,  and  Mr.  Moses  S.  Coulter, 
and  their  wives,  Rev.  Samuel  N.  and  Rev.  W.   P.  Martin  and  their  wives. 


12  China  Mission. 

Early  in  1854  Rev.  J.  L.  Nevius  and  his  wife  arrived  at  Ningpo,  and  they 
were  followed  by  Rev.  E.  B.  Inslee  and  wife,  who  reached  this  station  January 
1,  1856;  Rev.  Messrs.  D.  D.  Green,  Joshua  A.  Danforth,  and  their  wives 
arrived  at  the  close  of  1859;  and  Rev.  W.  T.  Morrison  and  his  wife  in  July, 
i860.  The  next  year  Rev.  J.  S.  Roberts  and  Rev.  S.  Dodd  sailed  for  this 
Mission,  and  in  1865  Rev.  J.  A.  Leyenberger  and  wife.  In  January,  1868, 
Rev.  John  Butler  arrived  at  Ningpo.  The  present  force  at  this  point  consists 
of  Rev.  Messrs.  Joseph  A.  Leyenberger,  and  John  Butler,  and  Miss  F.  E. 
Harshberger.  There  are  also  connected  with  it  seven  ordained  native  minis- 
ters and  a  number  of  teachers  and  helpers. 

Shanghai  is  a  seaport  of  Kiang-su,  fourteen  miles  from  the  sea,  and 
contains  a  population  of  300,000  inhabitants.  Rev.  Messrs.  Culbertson  and 
Wight  were  transferred  from  Ningpo  to  it  in  1850.  Its  situation  as  a  great 
commercial  centre  with  other  parts  of  China  and  the  outlying  world,  led 
the  Board  to  select  it  as  its  second  station,  and  more  was  expected  from  it  than 
has  been  realized.  Mr.  Culbertson  first  devoted  his  time  to  the  revision  of  the 
Scriptures  with  the  representatives  of  other  missionary  societies.  This  Mission 
was  strengthened  by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  John  Byers  and  his  wife  in  1852.  He 
remained  but  a  few  months,  when  sickness  compelled  him  to  return  home, 
which  he  was  not  permitted  to  reach  by  reason  of  death.  On  the  30th  of 
September,  1854,  Rev.  Reuben  Lowrie  and  his  wife  arrived  at  Shanghai ; 
Rev.  Messrs.  Charles  R.  Mills  and  Samuel  R.  Gayley  and  their  wives  February 
7,  1857  ;  Rev.  J.  M.  W.  Farnham  and  his  wife  March,  1861 ;  Rev.  John  Wherry 
and  wife  October,  1864;  Rev.  George  F.  Fitch  sailed  1870,  Mr.  J.  L.  Mateer 
187 1,  and  Rev.  C.  Leaman  1874.  The  present  laborers  are  Rev.  Messrs. 
Farnham,  Roberts,  Holt,  and  their  wives,  and  Mr.  J.  L.  Mateer,  who  has  had 
charge  of  the  press. 

The  Tai-ping  rebellion  interfered  for  a  time  with  missionary  operations  as 
the  city  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  Insurgents,  who  kept  possession  of  it  for 
many  months  soon  after  its  occupation  by  the  missionaries.  The  inhabitants 
were  greatly  oppressed  by  them,  and  were  exposed  to  much  danger  by  the 
attacks  of  the  Imperialists.  Much  was  expected  from  this  movement  in  its 
incipiency,  as  the  leader  had  been  taught  and  was  well  acquainted  with 
Scripture  truth ;  but  it  soon  lost  in  most  places  its  religious  element,  and  since 
its  overthrow  it  has  proved  a  hindrance  rather  than  a  help  to  the  evangeliza- 
tion of  China.  It  is  supposed  that  at  least  20,000,000  of  people  lost  their 
lives  in  the  insurrection. 

Here,  as  at  the  centres  already  mentioned,  preaching  was  established,  schools 
organized,  the  Word  circulated,  and  tours  made  in  the  adjoining  towns  and 
villages.  In  February,  1859,  the  first  convert  was  baptized,  and  in  the  fol- 
lowing February  a  church  was  organized,  composed  of  the  Mission  families 
and  the  native  convert.  In  i860  the  press  was  removed  from  Ningpo  to 
Shanghai,  under  the  superintendence  of  Mr.  William  Gamble,  who  had  arrived 
in  China  in  1858.     This  step  was  taken  from  the  superior  advantages  which 


China  Mission.  13 

Shanghai  had  as  a  commercial  centre.  This  press  has  been  a  power.  Some 
years  more  than  forty  millions  of  pages  have  been  printed,  and  in  its  issues  have 
been  not  only  various  editions  of  the  Word  of  God,  but  important  works  in 
various  departments  of  literature,  science,  and  religion.  The  large  and  valu- 
able dictionaries  of  Dr.  Hepburn,  Dr.  S.  Wells  Williams,  and  others  have  been 
printed  at  this  establishment.  The  premises  which  have  been  used  by  the 
press  for  many  years  have  lately  been  sold,  and  a  new  building,  more  pleasant 
and  much  nearer  to  the  business  centre  of  the  city,  has  been  purchased. 

Two  boarding-schools — one  for  boys  and  another  for  girls — have  been  car- 
ried on  for  many  years  at  Shanghai,  and  from  them  many  have  been  brought 
into  the  church.  Several  native  laborers  have  been  trained  in  them  also  for 
mission -work. 

Hangchow,  the  provincial  capital  of  Chekiang  Province,  lies  156  miles  north- 
west of  Ningpo.  It  was  occupied  as  a  station  in  1859  Dv  Rev.  J.  L.  Nevius, 
but  he  was  obliged — as  the  Treaty  did  not  allow  him  to  reside  in  the  interior — 
to  return  to  Ningpo.  His  sojourn  in  Hangchow  bore  fruit  in  the  conversion 
of  a  native  of  Sing-z,  where  we  have  now  an  interesting  native  church.  A 
woman  of  some  property  also  received  the  Gospel,  and  she  was  instrumental 
in  commencing  another  church  at  Kaokiau.  In  January,  1865,  the  late  Rev. 
D.  D.  Green  settled  at  Hangchow,  and  was  followed  by  Rev.  S.  Dodd  from 
Ningpo.  Rev.  David  N.  Lyon  and  his  wife  arrived  at  this  station  in  January, 
1870.  Since  that  time  Hangchow  has  been  under  the  care  of  Messrs.  Dodd 
and  Lyon.  The  boys'  boarding-school  was  removed  from  Ningpo  to  Hang- 
chow, and  numbers  about  thirty  pupils.  On  this  school,  as  already  stated,  a 
blessing  has  rested,  as  from  it  have  come  nearly  all  the  native  ministers  in  the 
Ningpo  Presbytery.  The  work  of  evangelization  has  been  gradual.  Soon  souls 
were  born  into  the  kingdom,  and  now  there  are  in  connection  with  the  church 
at  Hangchow,  and  one  at  an  outstation,  about  eighty  members.  There  are 
two  ordained  native  ministers,  one  of  whom  is  entirely  supported  by  the  native 
church,  and  the  other  partly  so.  Over  one  hundred  persons  have  been  bap- 
tized since  1865. 

Soochow  is  seventy  miles  from  Shanghai,  and  is  also  in  the  same  province. 
It  is  one  of  the  most  populous  of  all  the  large  cities  in  the  Empire,  and  is 
known  as  the  "  Paris "  of  China,  both  for  its  advanced  state  of  civilization, 
and  for  its  low  state  of  morals.  In  18 71  Mr.  Charles  Schmidt  occupied  it, 
and  was  soon  joined  by  Rev.  George  F.  Fitch  and  his  wife.  Rev.  W.  S.  Holt 
and  his  wife  arrived  in  1874.  A  church  of  five  members  has  been  organized  ; 
two  day-schools  have  been  started  ;  work  for  women  has  been  vigorously 
undertaken  ;  a  book  depository  for  the  sale  of  Bibles  and  religious  works  has 
been  opened ;  and  itinerating  into  the  surrounding  country  has  been  carried 
on  to  some  extent. 

These  four  cities  constitute  a  quadrilateral,  and  the  region  is  so  threaded  by 
canals  that  touring  is  greatly  facilitated.  More  of  itinerating  work  is  demanded, 
though  some  of  the  missionaries  devote  part  of  their  time  to  it. 


14  China  Mission. 

Nanking. — This  famous  city  is  situated  on  the  Yang-tse-kiang  River,  some 
seventy  miles  from  its  mouth.  It  was  visited  by  Rev.  Messrs.  Whiting  and 
Leaman  in  September,  1875.  There  was  an  attempt  made  by  the  authori- 
ties to  remove  them,  but  they  were  firm,  and  stood  their  ground  on  treaty 
rights.  Mrs.  Whiting  soon  joined  her  husband,  and  she  is  said  to  be  the  first 
"white  woman"  who  has  ever  lived  in  this  city.  The  laborers  are  laying  the 
foundations  for  an  important  work.     Already  two  have  been  baptized. 

In  these  five  cities  are  found  10  ordained  missionaries,  n  native  ministers, 
and  several  licensed  to  preach  the  Word,  a  number  of  native  helpers.  There 
are  also  one  superintendent  of  the  press  and  one  unmarried  lady. 

SHANTUNG   AND    PEKING    MISSION. 

Work  was  begun  in  this  Mission  in  1861  by  the  removal  of  Rev.  J.  L. 
Nevius  and  his  wife  to  Shantung  province,  for  health.  They  were  followed  by 
Messrs.  Gayley  and  Danforth,  who  occupied  Tungchow,  an  important  city  on 
the  coast,  having  a  population  of  150,000,  and  in  a  province  that  contained 
nearly  30,000,000.  Here  they  found  the  people  friendly,  and  ready  to  listen 
to  the  truth.  Mr.  Gayley  was  soon  removed  by  death,  and  Mr.  Danforth  was 
obliged  by  loss  of  health  to  return  home.  Rev.  Charles  R.  Mills  was  trans- 
ferred to  Tungchow.  Rev.  Calvin  W.  Mateer  and  H.  J.  Corbett  and  their 
wives  arrived  in  January,  1864.  In  1862  six  persons  were  baptized,  and  the 
year  following  ten  more  were  admitted  to  the  church. 

Chefoo,  also  on  the  coast,  and  the  chief  foreign  port  of  Shantung  Province, 
was  occupied  as  a  station  and  as  a  sanitarium  in  1862  by  Dr.  McCartee,  who 
remained  here  for  some  three  years.  Mr.  Corbett  removed  from  Tungchow 
to  this  point ;  and  Miss  C.  B.  Downing,  who  arrived  in  the  early  part  of  1866, 
has  been  laboring  here  ever  since.  Chefoo  was  regarded  as  the  commer- 
cial centre  for  the  eastern  portion  of  the  Province,  and  was  inhabited  by 
merchants  and  traders  without  their  families,  and  was  proverbially  immoral. 
Since  its  first  occupancy  the  population  has  increased  at  least  five-fold.  Che- 
foo has  become  the  centre  of  an  important  work.  In  it  has  been  organized  a 
church,  and  over  it  a  native  pastor  has  been  ordained ;  an  industrial  school, 
under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Nevius,  is  exerting  a  good  influence  upon  the  women  ; 
the  boarding-schools  are  also  doing  good  service  in  the  training  of  the  young. 
In  this  work  Miss  Downing  has  accomplished  much. 

The  outslations  dependent  on  these  two  stations  are  centres  of  special 
interest.  A  few  years  ago  some  persons  in  Ping-til  were  baptized.  Soon  a 
work  of  grace  began,  which  increased  in  power,  and  went  on  amidst  persecu- 
tions and  dangers,  so  that  now  there  are  three  churches  and  two  day-schools 
supported  by  the  people.  In  the  Chimeh  district  Mr.  Corbett  spent  some 
months  nearly  four  years  ago  in  preaching  the  Wrord,  and  especially  to  a  class 
called  the  "  Nameless  Sect."  Amidst  persecutions  and  great  dangers  he 
remained  until  he  had  baptized  nearly  one  hundred  persons,  when  he  had  to 
flee  for  his  life.     The  work,  however,  went  on,  and  now  the  whole  number  of 


China  Mission.  15 

native    Christians  is   about    three   hundred.     Persecutions  have  ceased,  and 
many  are  seeking  the  conversion  of  their  friends  and  neighbors. 

The  next  station  in  this  Mission  occupied  was  Peking,  the  capital  of  the 
country,  in  the  year  1863,  by  Rev.  Dr.  W.  A.  P.  Martin  and  his  wife.  He  was 
cordially  received  by  some  of  the  higher  officers  of  the  Government ;  a  school 
was  soon  commenced,  and  also  preaching,  though  at  first  with  some  apprehen- 
sion of  trouble ;  a  church,  consisting  of  seven  members,  was  organized  ;  and 
in  the  next  year,  1866,  six  more  were  baptized.  Rev.  W.  T.  Morrison  was 
transferred  from  Ningpo  Mission  to  Peking.  Dr.  Martin  was  elected  Presi- 
dent of  the  College  under  Chinese  authorities  in  1869,  and  resigned  his  con- 
nection with  the  Board.  Soon  after  this  took  place  Mr.  Morrison  was  removed 
by  death.  Rev.  Jasper  Mcllvaine,  who  had  arrived  the  preceding  year,  was 
left  in  charge.  After  the  reunion  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Presbyterian 
Church,  Rev.  Joseph  L.  Whiting  and  Rev.  Daniel  C.  McCoy,  with  their  wives, 
were  received  by  transfer  from  the  American  Board,  and  they  are  now  the 
only  laborers  at  this  station.  Their  time  is  taken  up  in  preaching  and  teach- 
ing. Chapel  preaching  is  well  attended.  There  are  five  candidates  for  the 
ministry  under  instruction.  Rev.  John  Wherry,  of  this  station,  is  at  present  in 
the  United  States. 

Chenan-fou,  capital  of  the  Shantung  Province,  three  hundred  miles  south 
of  Peking,  was  occupied  as  a  mission  station  in  1872.  This  city  is  considered 
one  of  much  importance,  as  the  centre  of  a  very  promising  population.  It  is 
desirable  that  a  strong  force  should  be  stationed  here.  Mr.  Mcllvaine  has 
labored  part  of  the  time  alone.  Rev.  J.  Fisher  Crosette  and  his  wife  moved 
there  last  year  from  Tungchow.  Rev.  John  Murray  and  his  wife,  who  reached 
China  in  November  last,  have  gone  to  this  place.  A  physician  is  greatly 
needed. 

Of  those  who  have  been  connected  with  tlr.s  Mission  whose  names  have 
not  been  mentioned,  are  Rev.  E.  P.  Capp,  Rev.  L.  W.  Eckard  and  wife,  John 
P.  Patterson,  M.D.,  S.  C.  Bliss,  M.D.,  Rev.  James  M.  Shaw  and  his  wife,  and 
Miss  M.  J.  Brown  (Mrs.  Capp),  Miss  Mary  D.  Patrick,  Miss  E.  S.  Dickey. 
Of  these,  Messrs.  Capp  and  Shaw  have  died  while  in  the  service  of  the  Board. 

We  have  endeavored  in  this  sketch  to  bring  before  our  readers  a  few  salient 
points  connected  with  our  own  missions  in  China.  From  these  we  see  how 
much  more  ready  the  people  were  to  receive  the  truth  in  one  section  than  in 
another.  There  is  a  great  contrast  between  Canton  and  Ningpo  Missions  in 
their  earlier  history,  and  between  Shanghai  and  Tungchow.  We  further  per- 
ceive the  benefits  in  adhering  to  a  place  in  spite  of  discouragements  and  obsta- 
cles. Canton  was  for  many  years  an  unproductive  Mission  as  regards 
results.  At  the  close  of  the  first  quarter  of  a  century  the  church  reported  on 
its  roll  thirty-three.  In  the  next  seven  years  this  number  is  multiplied  nearly 
six-fold,  and  the  good  work  of  ingathering  is  going  on.  We  see  the  benefits 
in  the  Ningpo  Mission  of  a  native  ministry,  and  of  schools  in  training   the 


1 6  China  Mission. 

preachers  for  their  work.     Another  encouraging  feature  is  the  increasing  num- 
ber of  the  churches  ready  and  willing  to  support  their  own  pastors. 

In  looking  at  and  considering  results,  we  must  bear  in  mind  the  great 
preparatory  work  that  is  to  be  done  among  a  heathen  people,  before  they  can 
take  in  or  understand  Divine  truth  ;  the  labor  that  is  to  be  expended  by  the 
missionary  in  the  acquisition  of  such  a  difficult  language  ;  the  time  needed  to 
prepare  religious  works,  and  the  slow  process  of  removing  prejudices  ;  creat- 
ing confidence  among  the  people,  and  of  getting  them  to  attend  to  the  things 
that  are  said.  In  view  of  these  and  kindred  difficulties,  we  are  only  surprised 
that  the  results  are  so  cheering,  and  that  the  labor  expended  has  yielded  so 
much  fruit  to  the  praise  and  glory  of  God's  grace,  and  that  the  converts  have 
given,  in  spite  of  persecution,  losses,  and  other  trials,  so  many  evidences  of 
sincerity  and  firmness. 

Dividing  the  period  from  1846  to  1876  into  three  periods,  and  we  have  in 
1856,  12  missionaries,  2  medical  missionaries,  and  40  communicants;  in  1866, 
16  missionaries,  2  medical  missionaries,  and  329  communicants;  in  1876,  24 
missionaries,  1  medical  missionary,  and  1,157  communicants. 

The  Church,  as  a  whole,  according  to  a  published  list  a  year  ago,  has  in 
China  189  ordained,  10  medical,  and  24  lay  missionaries  ;  3  superintendents 
of  the  press,  and  210  married  and  unmarried  females.  A  total  of  436.  Of 
this  number  210  are  from  the  United  States,  194  from  Great  Britain,  and  32 
from  Germany.  What  are  these  for  so  many  millions?  An  ordained  mission- 
ary for  every  two  millions.  Surely  this  is  not  all  that  the  Protestant 
Church  can  do  ;  and  yet  it  is  all  that  she  has  attempted. 

The  prospects  for  enlarged  efforts  are  cheering.  There  are  signs  of  unrest 
among  the  people  ;  a  higher  appreciation  of  foreign  things  ;  a  willingness  to 
examine  and  to  test,  and  even  to  seek  instruction  from  without.  There  are 
constant  accessions  to  the  number  of  Christians,  which  increase  the  moral 
forces  for  the  elevation  of  the  masses.  There  are  civilizing  tendencies  coming 
in  with  Christian  knowledge  and  efforts,  and  there  is  a  growing  power  in  the 
press.  These  are  signs  for  good.  With  them  the  Church  should  sympathize 
and  heartily  co-operate. 


'7. 


CHINA  MISSIONS,  1807-1877. 


The  following  historical  sketch  of  missions  in  China  which  we  present  to 
our  readers  is  of  interest,  as  embracing  something  of  what  has  been  done  by 
different  missionary  organizations.  It  is  taken  from  an  issue  of  the  English 
Presbyterian  Church,  called  The  Gospel  in  China: 

"The  story  of  evangelistic  missions  to  China  up  to  1877,  divides  itself  very 
naturally  into  three  parts.  Each  of  these  represents  a  different  period,  the 
limits  of  which  are  governed  by  well-marked  changes  in  the  relation  of  China 
to  the  western  world. 

"  I.  The  first  part  of  the  story  runs  from  1807,  the  year  in  which  Robert 
Morrison  landed  at  Canton,  to  1842,  when,  by  the  treaty  of  Nanking,  Hong 
Kong  was  ceded  to  Great  Britain  and  five  Chinese  ports  were  thrown  open  to 
foreign  trade  and  residence.  During  this  long  period  of  five  and  thirty  years, 
the  mission  zeal  which  had  been  kindled  at  the  beginning  of  the  century  strove 
in  vain  to  find  a  door  of  entrance  to  the  Chinese  empire.  From  his  solitary 
post  in  the  British  factory  outside  of  Canton,  the  earliest  laborer  watched  dur- 
ing some  twenty-seven  years  for  some  breach  in  the  closely  guarded  wall  of 
Chinese  exclusiveness,  and  died  without  seeing  his  desire.  Morrison  died  in 
1834.  With  his  wife  and  rarely  accomplished  son  he  lies  buried  at  Macao. 
His  great  dictionary,  his  translation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  his  many  other 
translations  and  literary  works,  attest  not  only  the  herculean  character  of  his 
labors,  but  the  faith,  the  courage,  and  the  single-mindedness  with  which  he 
ever  kept  in  view  the  salvation  of  China  by  the  Gospel.  The  first  Chinese 
convert  was  secretly  baptized  by  Dr.  Morrison  in  1814,  and  in  1832,  just  two 
years  before  his  death,  he  speaks  of  ten  persons  in  all  who  had  received  this 
ordinance.  From  1826  he  had  the  comfort  and  advantage  of  Leang-a-fah's  as- 
sistance as  an  ordained  preacher.  Leang-a-fah  had  been  converted  at  Malacca, 
and  was  baptized  there  by  Dr.  Milne.  For  many  years  he  was  a  valuable  la- 
borer at  Canton,  not  only  in  such  preaching  labors  as  were  possible,  but  also 
in  writing,  printing,  and  distributing  tracts.  In  1834  he  had  to  flee  for  his  life 
to  Singapore. 

"  This  first  period  of  China  mission  history  is  associated  almost  wholly  with 
the  work  of  the  London  Missionary  Society.  The  first  thirteen  missionaries 
to  the  Chinese  proceeded  all  of  them  from  that  Society,  and  included  not  only 
Morrison,  but  Miine,  Medhurst,  Dyer,  and  other  excellent  laborers.  Before 
the  war  broke  out  in  1839  tne  Society  had  sent  no  less   than   twenty-three 


2  China  Missions. 

laborers  to  the  Chinese  mission-field.  The  only  other  Society  that  came 
actively  forward  before  the  war  of  1839,  was  the  American  Board  of  Commis- 
sioners for  Foreign  Missions.  Bridgman  and  Abeel  were  the  first  American 
missionaries  to  China.  They  reached  Canton  about  1830,  and  within  the  next 
nine  years  the  same  Board  had  sent  forward  no  fewer  than  nineteen  laborers, 
all  of  them  for  work  amongst  the  Chinese. 

"A  prominent  feature  in  the  work  of  the  first  period,  and  one  which  had  its 
origin  in  the  impossibility  of  finding  an  immediate  entrance  into  China  itself, 
was  the  endeavor  to  reach  the  Chinese  at  outlying  points.  The  missions  to  the 
Chinese  in  Malacca,  Penang,  Singapore,  Java,  Borneo,  and  Siam,  all  sprang 
up  in  this  way,  and  served  one  most  valuable  end,  at  least,  in  preparing  skilled 
laborers  for  the  Empire  itself.  Of  the  forty-two  missionaries  mentioned  above, 
thirty-six  wrought  in  these  outlying  fields.  The  missionary  results  at  these 
places  were  in  themselves  not  very  encouraging,  and  at  nearly  all  of  them  the 
work  has  been  given  up.  Not,  indeed,  that  there  is  not  an  ample  field  for 
mission-work  at  each  of  them,  but  that  the  great  missionary  societies  have  felt 
it  incumbent  upon  them  to  concentrate  their  energies  on  the  Empire  itself. 
Of  the  wisdom  of  this  course  there  can  be  no  question. 

"A  fair  distribution  of  tracts  and  Scripture  portions  was  possible  even  in 
those  early  years,  not  only  amongst  the  Chinese  of  the  Malayan  Archipelago, 
but  in  China  itself.  Gutzlaff  availed  himself  of  the  questionable  facilities  of 
opium-smuggling  schooners,  and  was  enabled  to  do  a  considerable  work  of 
distribution  at  various  points  along  the  eastern  sea-board.  Somewhat  later 
(1835),  Messrs.  Medhurst  and  Stevens  chartered  a  little  brig  for  this  same 
purpose,  and  sailed  as  far  north  as  the  Shantung  promontory,  landing  at 
several  points,  distributing  books,  preaching  as  they  had  opportunity,  but  find- 
ing no  place  at  which  they  could  be  permitted  to  remain.  One  of  the  noblest 
efforts  in  this  direction  was  the  fitting  out  in  1837,  by  the  American  house  of 
Olyphant  &  Co.,  at  a  cost  of  $20,000,  of  a  schooner,  the  Himmaleh,  for  the 
express  purpose  of  such  coasting  work.  The  failure  of  Gutzlaff,  who  had 
entered  the  service  of  the  British  Government,  to  use  this  vessel,  though  it 
was  the  offspring  of  his  own  representations,  and  the  death  of  the  Rev.  Edwin 
Stevens,  of  the  American  Board,  at  the  commencement  of  its  first  voyage,  left 
it  unemployed  in  the  hands  of  the  large-hearted  men  who  had  fitted  it  out,  and 
it  had  to  be  turned  to  commercial  uses. 

"Another  element  which  has  since  proved  of  great  value  in  the  history  of 
Chinese  missions,  that  of  medicine  in  close  alliance  with  the  preaching  of  the 
Word,  had  also  its  beginning  in  those  days.  Pearson,  Livingstone,  and  Col- 
ledge,  all  of  them  of  the  East  India  Company's  service,  had  already  done  good 
service  by  their  large-hearted,  benevolent  medical  labors  in  behalf  of  the  Chi- 
nese of  Canton  and  Macao,  but  Dr.  Peter  Parker,  of  the  American  Board, 
was  the  first  medical  missionary  to  China.  Prom  1 835-1839  in  his  Ophthal- 
mic Hospital  at  Canton  he  had  wonderful  surgical  success,  but  the  missionary 
element  was  almost  wholly  in  abeyance.     The  doctor  and  his  assistants  were 


China  Missions.  3 

closely  watched,  and  anything  like  direct  preaching  to  the  patients,  or  even, 
the  distribution  of  religious  books  among  them,  would  have  resulted  in  the 
closing  of  the  hospital. 

"At  Canton  and  Macao,  the  only  points  in  China  proper  where  the  slightest 
foothold  had  been  obtained,  the  appreciable  missionary  results  in  the  way  of 
converts  did  not,  at  the  close  of  this  first  period,  reach  to  twenty  baptized 
adults.  Those  long  years  of  waiting  at  length  came  to  an  end.  The  war  with 
Great  Britain  broke  out  in  1839,  and,  ending  in  1842  in  the  treaty  of  Nanking, 
it  inaugurated  a  new  era  for  Protestant  missions. 

"  II.  The  treaty  of  Nanking  ceded  Hong  Kong  to  Great  Britain,  and  opened 
to  foreign  trade  and  residence  the  five  ports  of  Canton,  Amoy,  Foochow, 
Ningpo,  and  Shanghai.  The  history  of  mission-work  in  China  for  the  next 
eighteen  years,  that  is,  from  1842-1860,  is  just  the  history  of  what  was  done  at 
these  five  ports  and  their  neighborhood.  The  successful  establishment  of  a  new 
mission,  having  the  port  of  Swatow  as  its  center,  is  the  only  exception  to  the 
above  statement.  The  Swatow  Mission  was  begun  by  Mr.  Burns  in  1856, 
under  circumstances  of  great  difficulty,  and  was  carried  to  a  prosperous  issue 
by  the  settlement,  in  1858,  of  the  Rev.  George  S'mith,  as  the  first  permanent 
laborer  in  that  region.  Several  features  of  considerable  interest  attach  them- 
selves to  this  period. 

"  1.  There  was,  first,  the  almost  immediate  gathering  to  the  five  ports  of 
men  who  had  already  been  providentially  prepared,  and  who  could  at  once 
enter  upon  mission-work.  Thus  those  who,  before  the  breaking  out  of  hostili- 
ties, had  either  at  Canton  or  Macao  been  striving  to  gain  some  kind  of  foot- 
hold, were  ready  to  take  advantage  of  the  new  and  larger  opportunities  now 
granted  at  Canton.  To  Amoy  there  speedily  gathered  at  least  six  missionaries, 
three  of  the  American  Board  and  three  of  the  London  Mission,  all  of  whom 
had  already,  in  various  parts  of  the  Malayan  Archipelago,  been  laboring 
amongst  Chinese  who  spoke  the  Amoy  dialect.  For  Ningpo  and  Shanghai 
three  men  were  ready  in  the  persons  of  Messrs.  Medhurst,  Milne,  and  Lock- 
hart,  all  of  whom  by  previous  labor  and  study  were  able  at  once  to  take  up 
active  mission-work  in  these  localities.  Foochow  alone  remained  unoccupied 
for  a  time.  It  was  first  taken  up  in  1847,  the  missionaries  of  the  American 
Board  who  had  been  engaged  at  Bangkok,  amongst  the  Chinese  of  Siam, 
transferring  themselves  to  the  new  post.  When  we  remember  that  the  treaty 
of  Nanking  made  no  stipulation  for  the  permission  of  mission  labor,  and  that, 
therefore,  the  whole  question  of  how  the  Chinese  authorities  might  deal  with 
missionaries  was  still  open,  this  providential  readiness  of  so  many  men  to  take 
immediate  advantage  of  the  opportunity  and  thoroughly  to  establish  themselves 
before  debate  could  arise  as  to  their  peculiar  standing,  was  of  no  small  value. 
The  Chinese  have  a  habit  of  making  the  least  of  their  apparent  concessions, 
narrowing  them  down  to  the  utmost  possible  limit,  and,  if  they  could  have 
realized  how  the  little  unmentioned  item  of  Protestant  missions  was  to  be  the 
one  wedge,   above   all   others,  which   should   open   up   their  country  to   the 


4  China  Missions. 

familiar  gaze  of  foreign  eyes,  and  to  the  leavening  influences  of  a  doctrine 
which  silently,  steadily,  but  most  surely,  must  revolutionize  China,  they  would 
not  have  been  slow  to  interpose  all  possible  obstacles. 

"  2.  The  second  most  interesting  aspect  of  this  period  is  the  wonderful 
upstirring  of  the  Evangelical  churches  to  take  hold  of  China  as  a  mission-field. 
Up  to  1839  two  great  Mission  Boards  of  England  and  the  United  States,  i.  e., 
the  London  Missionary  Society  and  the  American  Board,  had  the  field  almost 
wholly  to  themselves.  It  should  not  be  forgotten,  however,  that  in  those 
earlier  days,  both  in  England  and  in  the  United  States  of  America,  these  two 
Boards  practically  represented  the  Evangelical  churches,  and  were  supported 
by  all.  As  the  individual  churches  one  by  one  have  risen  to  assert  their 
church  life  in  mission  labors,  these  two  great  Boards,  though  still  retaining  a 
little  of  their  original  catholic  character,  have  more  and  more  come  to  be 
recognized  as  the  special  missionary  boards  of  the  Congregational  churches. 
In  1842,  the  Presbyterian,  Episcopal,  and  Baptist  Boards  of  the  United  States; 
in  1847,  the  American  Methodist  Episcopal;  and  about  1850,  the  American 
Reformed  Church,  established  themselves  in  China  mission-work  at  one  or 
more  of  the  five  ports.  From  the  side  of  England,  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  in  1844,  the  Baptist  Board  in  1845,  the  English  Presbyterian  Church 
in  1847,  and  the  Wesleyan  Methodist  Missionary  Society  in  1853,  sent  forth 
agents  to  one  or  more  of  the  newly  opened  ports.  From  the  Continent  of 
Europe,  the  Basel  Missionary  Society  in  1847,  the  Rhenish  Missionary  Society 
in  1847,  and  the  Berlin  Missionary  Society  (since  absorbed  into  the  Rhenish 
Society)  in  185 1,  severally  sent  forth  a  number  of  laborers  who  chose  Hong 
Kong  as  their  center,  and  from  thence  have  passed  over  to  the  mainland  to 
do  excellent  and  widespread  service  in  many  towns  and  villages.  Of  course, 
it  is  plain  that,  excluding  the  Continental  Societies  which  work  out  from  Hong 
Kong,  there  were  about  a  dozen  societies  having  locations  in  the  five  ports. 
Thus  Canton  found  itself  with  representatives  -from  the  London  Missionary 
Society,  the  American  Board,  the  American  Presbyterian  Church,  the  Ameri- 
can Baptist,  and  the  Wesleyan  Methodists  of  England.  Similarly  there  was, 
of  necessity,  at  each  of  the  other  ports,  what  might  seem  a  crowding  together 
of  the  various  Protestant  denominations.  Very  little  evil  has  resulted  from 
this.  Not  only  are  the  territory  and  population  around  each  port  so  great  as 
to  allow  of  separate  action,  and  of  due  regard  to  each  other's  line  of  work,  but 
the  Chinese  have  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  essential  unity  of  all  in  the 
proclamation  of  Jesus  as  the  one  Saviour.  On  the  other  hand,  it  paved  the 
way  for  the  much  more  speedy  occupation  of  new  centers,  so  soon  as  those  in 
God's  providence  were  thrown  open. 

"  3.  The  results  of  work  during  this  second  period.  These  varied  consider- 
ably at  the  five  ports.  Perhaps  Canton  fared  worst  of  all.  The  intense  enmity 
manifested  by  the  populace  in  their  repeated  assaults  on  foreign  property,  the 
necessity  for  repeated  hostile  interferences  on  the  part  of  Great  Britain,  and 
the  outbreak  of  the  second  war  in  1856,  gave  much  less  steady  opportunity  to 


China  Missions.  5 

the  laborers  at  Canton  than  at  any  of  the  other  ports.  It  is  probable  that 
some  thirty  to  forty  would  be  about  the  whole  number  in  Church  membership 
at  Canton  in  i860.  At  Amoy,  on  the  contrary,  the  mission  laborers  had  con- 
tinued peaceful  relations  with  the  populace,  and  they  had  also  from  the  first 
encouraging  signs  of  interest  in  the  Gospel.  In  1850  there  were  some  twenty 
members  associated  with  the  London  and  American  missions.  In  the  begin- 
ning of  1854  the  preaching  of  Mr.  Burns  at  Pechuia  issued  in  a  remarkable 
awakening  which  spread  also  to  Amoy,  so  that  by  1858  there  were  some  400 
souls  in  Church  membership. 

"At  Foochow  the  ground  was  found  to  be  unusually  hard.  As  the  result 
of  the  first  ten  years'  labor  the  American  Board  missionaries  had  one  convert, 
and  three  years  later,  in  i860,  they  had  thirteen.  The  American  Methodist 
Episcopal  Mission,  by  the  same  year,  had  fifty-four  persons  in  membership. 
The  Church  Mission,  after  many  trials  through  the  sickness  and  enforced 
etirement  of  the  early  laborers,  were  in  the  same  year  beginning  to  see  the 
earliest  fruits  of  their  work. 

"  At  Ningpo,  again,  there  was  more  of  the  friendliness  which  the  Amoy  mis- 
sionaries had  experienced,  and  not  improbably  from  a  similar  cause.  They 
are  both  commercial  rather  than  literary  cities.  The  various  missions  in  con- 
nection with  this  center  numbered  in  i860  about  200  converts;  whilst  Shang- 
hai, the  last  of  the  five  ports,  had  about  150. 

"  Speaking  roughly,  it  may  be  said  that  in  i860,  at  the  close  of  this  second 
period,  there  were  some  80  missionaries  on  the  field,  and  about  1,300  baptized 
converts.  To  this  period,  also,  belongs  the  preparation  and  publication  of 
what  is  called  the  Delegates'  version  of  the  Scriptures,  that  which  is  commonly 
used  by  the  large  majority  of  missionaries  in  China.  It  was  printed  in  Hong 
Kong  in  the  year  1855. 

"  III.  The  third  period  opens  with  the  ratification  of  the  treaty  of  Tien-tsin, 
at  the  close,  in  i860,  of  the  war  which  had  broken  out  at  Canton  in  1856. 
This  treaty  not  only  expressly  recognized  the  legality  of  Christian  missions 
and  the  rights  of  Chinese  converts,  but  it  further  opened  up  a  large  number 
of  new  spheres  of  labor.  These  were  Tien-tsin,  New-chwang,  and  Tungchow 
in  the  north  ;  Swatow  and  the  islands  of  Formosa  and  Hainan  in  the  south  ; 
and  three  ports  on  the  Yang-tse,  viz.  :  Hankow,  Kiu-kiang,  and  Chin-kiang. 
The  older  missions  speedily  branched  off  to  take  immediate  advantage  of 
some  of  these  openings,  whilst  quite  a  number  of  other  churches  were  induced 
by  these  new  opportunities  to  break  ground  for  the  first  time  in  China.  Thus 
the  Methodist  New  Connection  occupied  Tien-tsin  in  i860;  the  English  Uni- 
ted Methodists  began  work  at  Chefoo  and  Ningpo  in  1864;  the  China  Inland 
Mission  was  formed  in  1865  ;  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Church  in  1869,  and 
subsequently  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland  took  up  Manchuria, 
bequeathed  to  them  by  William  Burns ;  the  Canada  Presbyterian  Church 
broke  ground  in  North  Formosa  in  1872  ;  whilst  the  churches  in  the  Southern 
States  of  America,  breaking  off  from  the  Northern  churches  in  connection 


6  China  Missions. 

with  the  civil  war,  formed  separate  Mission  Boards,  and  sent  forth  their  own 
laborers  to  several  of  the  Chinese  ports.  This  third  period,  running  from 
1 860-1 8 7 7,  is  very  interesting  from  its  wealth  of  successful  effort.  The  pros- 
perity of  mission-work  in  China  has  shown  itself  not  only  in  the  vastly  increased 
numbers  of  church  members,  now  supposed  to  number  about  12,000,  but  very 
conspicuously  also  in  the  lines  of  Church  organization  and  the  development 
of  a  native  pastorate  ;  and  yet  further  in  the  large  number  of  great  inland 
cities,  possessing  each  its  own  congregation  or  congregations  of  Christians, 
and  some  of  which,  such  as  Hangchow,  Soochow,  Nanking,  Kalgan,  etc.,  are 
now  utilized  for  foreign  missionary  residence.  As  in  contrast  with  Romish 
missions  there  is  something  positively  startling  in  the  immense  territory  which 
has  been  opened  up  by  the  agency  of  Protestant  missions,  and  in  which  there  is 
now,  comparatively,  both  traveling  and  teaching  freedom  to  all  comers.  Rom- 
ish missions,  however  long  they  have  existed  in  China,  have  neither  had,  nor 
are  they  having,  any  such  influence.  Their  promoters  dwell  in  darkness  ; 
their  whole  system  is  hedged  round  with  secrecy;  they  utterly  fail  to  place 
the  truth  in  a  position  that  will  make  it  play  with  any  living  and  life-giving 
power  on  the  conditions  of  surrounding  society  ;  they  create  no  healthy  breath 
of  mental  freedom  in  their  neighborhood  ;  and  their  chief  influence,  as  in  any- 
wise anticipating  the  open  preaching  of  the  Gospel,  has  been  to  create  a  ma- 
lignant atmosphere  of  suspicion  and  terror.  It  is  impossible,  however,  in  this 
brief  sketch  to  enter  more  fully  into  the  multiplied  features  of  interest  which 
belong  to  these  later  years.  They  will,  doubtless,  have  been  fully  brought  out 
at  the  Shanghai  Missionary  Conference.  This  Conference  of  representatives 
from  all  the  Evangelical  Missions  in  China,  coupled  with  the  new  Convention 
between  Great  Britain  and  China,  by  which' fresh  spheres  of  work  are  being 
opened  this  year  alike  to  commerce  and  to  missionary  enterprise,  fitly  closes 
the  third  period  of  missionary  history,  and  inaugurates  a  fourth,  which,  we  can 
not  doubt,  will  reveal,  in  greatly  multiplied  measure,  the  mercy  and  compas- 
sion of  the  Lord  Jesus  toward  the  poor,  proud,  perishing  myriads  of  China's 
heathen." 

Rev.  W.  Muirhead,  missionary  of  the  London  Society,  gives  the  following 
facts  regarding  the  work  in  China  : 

"There  are  now  220  foreign  missionaries  at  work  in  China,  and  between 
400  and  500  native  preachers  and  assistants,  some  of  whom  have  attained 
high  scholarship  and  degrees  in  their  native  learning. 

"The  literature  consists  of  translations  of  the  Bible  and  other  books,  com- 
mentaries and  expositions  of  portions  of  the  Bible,  numerous  school  books, 
reading  lessons,  and  elementary  works  on  geography,  history,  and  physical 
science,  tracts  and  pamphlets  on  religious  subjects,  periodicals,  magazines, 
newspapers,  and  almanacs.  At  Hong  Kong  there  are  three  native  daily  news- 
papers, two  of  them  having  native  editors.  At  Shanghai  there  is  one  native 
daily  paper  and  one  weekly.  There  is  also  a  child's  monthly  of  wide  circula- 
tion.    Books  on  medical  science,  chiefly  by  medical  missionaries  ;  books  on 


China  Missions. 


philology,  dictionaries,  grammars  ;  works  on  the  philosophy  and  religions  of 
China  and  on  Christianity. 

"  If  the  literature  which  they  had  produced  had  been  the  only  result  of  the 
labors  of  Protestant  missionaries,  it  would  have  been  no  mean  proof  of  their 
earnest  and  laborious  lives  ;  but  these  occupations  are  only  preparatory  and 
subservient  to  higher  works,  in  which  they  find  their  true  calling. 

"  Preaching,  teaching,  visitation,  conversation,  all  to  make  known  the  Gos- 
pel. The  foreign  Protestant  missionaries  as  a  rule  can  and  do  preach  in  Chi- 
nese. They  preach  in  mission  chapels  and  in  the  streets  and  wherever  they 
are  permitted  to  go,  and  they  go  sometimes  where  they  have  no  direct  per- 
mission. 

"The  converts  now  number  between  10,000  and  12,000.  Literary  gradu- 
ates and  influential  wealthy  men  are  included  in  this  number,  but  the  converts 
are  mostly  of  the  poorer  classes.  Of  the  reality  of  the  religious  life  and  prin- 
ciples of  the  converts  there  can  be  no  doubt.  Slow  progress  and  inconsistency 
of  conduct  in  some  cases  are  both  admitted  and  deplored,  but  in  many  in- 
stances a  high  Christian  character  is  attained.  Chinese  converts  are  more 
ready  to  engage  in  Christian  work  than  the  average  of  church  members  at 
home.  I  have  heard  the  highest  testimony  borne  by  Mr.  Muirhead,  Dr.  Eitel, 
of  Hong  Kong,  the  Bishop  of  Victoria,  and  others,  to  the  ability,  character, 
and  labors  of  the  native  preachers." 

The  following  figures  show  the  number  of  communicants  connected  with 
some  of  the  leading  Societies,  and  the  year  when  the  first  missionary  was  sent : 


London  Missionary  Society, 

Church  "  " 

Baptist  "  " 

Wesleyan        "  " 

Presbyterian  Church  of  England, 

United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland, 

German  Missions, 

American  Board, 

Baptist 

Episcopal       " 

Presbyterian  " 

Methodist  Episcopal  Board, 

Reformed  Church  " 


Year. 

Communicants 

1807 

2,272 

1844 

1,068 

1845 

62 

1853 

3d 

1847 

i,974 

1863 

62 
718 

183O 

424 

1834 

704 

1835 

187 

1838 

i,3i9 

1847 

i,3i7 

185O 

53o 

18, 
"PAPAL  EUROPE. 


It  is  a  sad  thought  that  whilst  Christendom  is  seeking  the  evangelization  of 
outlying  regions  of  moral  darkness,  inhabited  by  pagan  and  Mohammedan,  she 
is  divided  in  the  great  essentials  of  truth,  and  one  part  is  arrayed  against 
the  other  and  seeking  its  overthrow.  It  is  a  sadder  thought  that  the  one  part 
has  fallen  into  such  gross  errors,  that  affect  the  life  of  its  votaries,  that  the 
other  considers  them  as  almost,  if  not  wholly,  anti-Christian,  and  as  needing  a 
fuller  and  better  knowledge  of  divine  truth,  and  which  is  to  be  enjoyed  not  by 
reforming  their  faith,  but  in  seeking  its  destruction,  and  in  bringing  them  into 
saving  contact  with  the  pure  and  unadulterated  Gospel  of  Christ.  That  sys- 
tem called  Romanism,  in  contradistinction  to  Protestantism,  is  so  overladen  with 
traditions  and  with  rites  that  the  simplicity  of  truth  is  not  seen  nor  its  power 
felt.  Wherever  it  exists,  there  is  a  field  for  missionary  effort,  and  there  should 
the  evangelist  go  to  win  back  the  people  to  a  simple,  but  hearty,  reception  of 
the  Gospel.  This  is  the  theory  of  the  mass  of  Protestants,  and  the  more  the 
spiritual  condition  of  Romanists  is  seen,  and  the  fruits  of  the  system  are  un- 
derstood, the  more  should  efforts  be  put  forth  to  improve  the  one  and  coun- 
teract the  other.  The  Christian  Church  is  beginning  to  act  on  this  plan,  though 
little  comparatively  is  done  in  the  way  of  direct  labor,  and  the  application  of 
material  forces.  A  commencement  only  is  made  in  certain  countries,  and  in 
some  where  Rome  holds  sway,  no  earnest  aggressive  effort  has  been  inaugurated. 

Our  subject  is  Papal  Europe.  Once  this  name  took  in  the  whole  of 
Europe,  except  that  portion  which  adhered  to  the  tenets  and  the  teachings 
of  the  Greek  Church.  Now,  in  the  west,  in  the  center,  and  in  the  north 
is  a  power  adverse  to  it,  and  that  aims  at  its  destruction.  Whilst  Rome  was 
dreaming  that  all  was  peace  within  her  borders,  and  some  of  her  defenders 
were  declaring  that  every  heretic  was  exterminated,  and  that  no  one  stood  up 
in  opposition,  a  great  moral  revolution  suddenly  took  place,  that  severed  En- 
gland, Scotland,  Holland,  Denmark,  Sweden,  Prussia,  and  portions  of  Ger- 
many and  Switzerland  from  her  sway.  Though  no  country  since  has  thrown 
off  allegiance  to  the  Pope,  yet  Papal  Europe  has  a  different  meaning  and  in- 
fluence from  what  it  had  soon  after  the  Reformation.  In  many  respects  it  has 
suffered  heavy  and  irretrievable  losses,  while  on  the  other  hand,  Protestantism 
has  been  gaining  in  numbers,  political  influence,  and  moral  power.  Had 
Protestantism  been  a  unit  at  the  Reformation,  or,  like  the  Papacy,  been  under 
one  grand  controlling  principle  and  head,  its  successes  might  have  been  greater 
and  its  conquests  larger,  but  this  would  have  destroyed  independence  of 
thought  and  action  ;  but  God  permitted  it  to  be  broken  into  distinct  parts, 
that  the  evils  which  had  grown  around  the  Romish  Church  might  be  avoided, 
and  that  a  richer  harvest  might  in  the  future  be  gained.  Or  had  the  Protest- 
ant Church  been  sufficiently  consolidated  for  aggressive  work,  as  Rome  was 


2  Papal  Europe. 

even  with  her  great  losses,  the  condition  of  Europe  might  have  been  different 
to-day;  but  the  evangelistic  element  was  lacking,  and  whilst  Romish  emissa- 
ries were  busy  under  .the  guise  of  Protestantism,  but  really  under  the  guidance 
and  mastery  of  Loyola,  to  stir  up  strife  and  widen  differences,  Lutheran  and 
Calvinist  were  at  war,  and  in  many  places  instead  of  fighting  their  common 
foe,  they  were  at  variance  among  themselves,  and  weakening  each  other. 

Whilst  it  is  true  that  no  nation  has  thrown  off  its  allegiance  to  the  Romish  See 
since  the  Reformation,  it  is  also  true  that  no  Protestant  country  has  abandoned 
the  faith  and  sought  alliance  with  the  Papacy.  But  the  relative  strength  of  these 
two  systems  is  not  the  same.  In  this  there  has  been  a  marked  change  and  a 
wonderful  gain  to  Protestant  power.  Says  the  Rev.  VV.  Arthur  :  "In  the  age 
succeeding  to  the  Council  of  Trent,  Papal  Europe  meant  only  all  the  most 
ancient,  splendid,  and  powerful  monarchies  of  Europe.  The  historical  and  ec- 
clesiastical center  of  the  whole  was  Italy,  with  the  Papal  throne  as  her  dominating 
authority  ;  the  German  Empire,  or,  as  the  Papacy  had  loved  to  call  it,  the  Holy 
Roman  Empire,  was  the  political  and  military  center  ;  France  was  an  intellectual 
and  social  center  ;  and  Spain  and  Portugal  formed  a  center  of  force  for  expan- 
sion beyond  the  seas — an  expansion  already  so  vast  that  those  two  countries 
appeared  securely  to  divide  the  East  and  West  between  them,  the  Papacy  pre- 
siding over  the  distribution  with  the  rights  of  suzerain.  Poland,  at  the  other 
side  of  Europe,  was  reckoned  upon  as  able  to  win  back  heretical  Sweden,  and 
to  subdue  schismatical  Russia — schemes  which  were  not  only  entertained,  but 
attempted.  Outside  of  this  splendid  circle  lay  no  nation  possessing  either  an 
imposing  antiquity  or  a  brilliant  modern  expansion.  Some  States  in  Germany 
had  thrown  off  the  Papal  authority,  but,  compared  with  the  historical  nations, 
they  were  individually  weak,  and  were  also  difficult  to  combine,  being  now 
sundered  from  both  their  temporal  head,  the  Emperor,  and  their  spiritual  head, 
the  Pope.  Two  monarchies  lay  between  the  lights  of  civilization  and  the  un- 
broken night  of  barbarism — Sweden  and  England.  Compared  with  the  other 
Protestant  States,  they  were  considerable  ;  compared  with  Papal  Europe,  they 
were  of  small  account.  Every  great  historical  city  on  the  continent  belonged 
to  the  Papacy.  So  did  every  ancient  university,  and  every  influential  center 
of  art,  letters,  or  civilization,  excepting  only  places  which  had  sprung  up  into 
renown  since  the  conflict  of  the  Reformation  began.  The  old,  polished 
languages  were  all  in  the  service  of  the  Papacy.  Italian,  French,  Spanish, 
and  Portuguese  were  exclusively  so.  These  inherited  the  Latin  dignity  and 
culture.  German  at  the  most  polished  courts,  and  in  the  most  noted  schools, 
was  Papal.  Only  in  new  and  northern  States  had  it  revolted.  The  English, 
too,  was  its  comrade  in  the  revolt.  Hut  neither  of  these  lan^ua^es  had  a  lit- 
erature  to  speak  of." 

Now  what  is  the  state  of  Papacy  to-day  in  these  countries,  and  what  is  -its 
power  in  the  world  ?  France  has  been  humbled  by  a  great  Protestant  nation 
that  had  not  then  a  name,  and  she  no  longer  dictates  to  other  dynasties  or  fol- 
lows blindly   the  will   of   the  Pope.     Spain    and    Portugal  are  in  a  decrepit 


Papal  Europe.  3 

condition,  having  lost  nearly  all  their  foreign  dependencies,  and  have  no  influ- 
ence in  European  affairs.  Italy  had  sank  into  decrepitude  until  unified  by 
foreign  aid  and  by  the  complete  overthrow  of  the  great  abettors  of  the  Papacy. 
Austria  has  been  shorn  of  much  of  her  strength,  and  she  no  longer  controls  or 
leads  the  great  German  Empire.  Poland  has  disappeared  from  the  roll  of 
nations.  England,  then  so  feeble,  has  spread  over  all  lands.  Prussia  has 
become  a  giant,  and  Russia,  then  unknown,  is  in  numbers  almost  equal  to  the 
whole  of  Papal  Europe.  Rome,  the  seat  of  ecclesiastical  power,  is  now  the 
capital  of  an  united  and  free  Italy,  over  which  the  Pope  has  no  political  control. 
These  wonderful  changes  have  in  no  way  strengthened  the  Papacy  or  enlarged 
its  influence  among  the  nations  of  the  earth.  It  has  been  weakened  by  each. 
The  very  efforts  put  forth  to  augment  its  sway,  have  in  the  divine  orderings 
enfeebled  it. 

Protestantism  has  not  only  grown  politically,  but  numerically  in  Europe. 
Compare  Spain  and  Great  Britain.  At  the  Reformation  the  one  was  greatly 
superior  to  the  other  in  numbers  and  political  influence.  Now  Spain  has  just 
about  one-half  the  population  of  Great  Britain,  while  in  this  period  the  latter 
has  peopled  Australia,  New  Zealand,  United  States,  and  other  countries. 
During  the  last  fifty  years,  England  has  increased  her  population  119  ;  Prussia, 
72  ;  Austria,  27  ;  and  France,  12  per  cent.  This  difference  led  a  French  Ro- 
man Catholic  to  write,  a  few  years  ago,  as  he  called  attention  to  it :  "  On  com- 
paring the  respective  progress  made  since  18 14  by  non-Catholic  Christian  na- 
tions with  the  advancement  of  power  attained  by  Catholic  nations,  one  is  struck 

with  astonishment  at  the  disproportion Unquestionably  since   1789, 

the  balance  of  power  between  Catholic  civilization  and  non-Catholic  civilization 
has  been  reversed." 

Whilst  Protestant  nations  guaranteed  liberty  of  worship  to  all  classes,  nearly 
every  Papal  country  prohibited  Protestant  worship  or  Protestant  evangelization. 
This  was  especially  true  of  Spain,  Portugal,  Italy,  and  Austria.  Now  France 
is  infidel  rather  than  Romish.  Italy  is  free  from  the  Alps  to  her  southern  bor- 
der, and  the  Vaudois  preacher  and  the  Protestant  evangelist  can  traverse  the 
country  unmolested,  and  proclaim  everywhere  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus,  even 
in  Rome  itself,  and  within  sound  of  the  Vatican.  Changes  as  great  have  taken 
place  in  Austria,  and  if  Spain  is  seeking  to  curtail  Protestant  movements,  the 
attempt  is  only  momentary.     Papal  Europe,  in  a  word,  is  free. 

In  this  state  of  things,  it  is  important  that  missionary  labor  should  be  wisely 
expended,  and  all  effort,  of  whatever  kind,  so  used  that  it  shall  yield  the  richest 
results.  There  is  danger,  especially  in  Italy,  where  various  societies  have  en- 
tered, lest  their  resources  shall  not  be  utilized  to  the  best  advantage,  or  too 
much  means  should  be  employed,  so  as  to  produce  among  the  people  a  spirit 
of  dependence.  There  is  at  times  an  unwise  expenditure  of  money  among  the 
unevangelized,  and  too  delicate  a  regard  for  the  poverty  of  the  people.  Ro- 
manism, as  well  as  heathenism,  draws  steadily  upon  such  for  the  maintenance 
of  their  systems.  Protestantism  gives  where  the  others  receive,  and  the  result 
is  oft  feebleness  instead  of  vigor,  and  dependence  instead  of  self-reliance. 


Papal  Europe. 


MISSIONARY   AGENCIES. 

These  are  twofold — one  is  an  evangelism  that  is  carried  on  by  the  native 
Protestant  Church  in  different  Papal  countries  ;  the  other  is  a  work  done  in 
these  and  other  countries  in  Europe,  by  Protestant  organizations  mainly  in 
Great  Britain  and  the  United  Slates. 

In  Ireland  there  is  a  vigorous  Christianity  that  is  earnest,  watchful,  and 
aggressive,  and  that  is  gradually  making  inroads  upon  the  power  of  the  Papacy. 
The  Episcopal,  Presbyterian,  and  Methodist  churches  of  the  land  are  not  only 
active  and  resolute  to  maintain  their  position,  but  to  grow.  Their  missionary 
and  educational  efforts  are  in  a  healthy  state,  and  they  are  aided  somewhat  by 
others  in  their  endeavors  to  bring  Romanists  to  a  knowledge  of  a  purer  Chris- 
tianity. The  relative  growth  of  Protestantism  is  much  greater  than  that  of 
Romanism.  In  1825  the  Protestant  population  stood  to  the  Roman  Catholic 
as  3  to  13  ;  now  it  is  as  1  to  3. 

The  Protestant  population  in  France  is  variously  estimated  from  half  a  mil- 
lion to  two  millions.  Their  connection  with  the  State,  and  the  active  inter- 
ference and  control  of  the  latter,  has  greatly  interfered  with  the  liberties  of  the 
Church  and  with  that  independence  which  is  essential  to  its  healthy  growth. 
Then  the  rationalism  that  has  invaded  many  of  the  churches  has  weakened 
the  life  and  energies  of  the  Reformed  body,  so  that  there  is  a  lack  of  harmony 
and  of  unity  among  its  members.  These  divisions  absorb  too  much  of  their 
strength,  which  is  needed  to  meet  the  calls  that  are  made  to  them  for  help  and 
to  evangelize  the  places  that  are  calling  for  pastors.  The  different  Protestant 
organizations  have  a  number  of  missionary  and  philanthropic  societies  that  are 
doing  much  good.  The  English  Wesleyans  and  American  Baptists  of  the  for- 
eign churches  are  putting  forth  the  greatest  efforts  to  evangelize  France.  The 
American  Foreign  Christian  Union,  that  expended  formerly  much  labor  and 
money  on  the  country,  is  again  resuming  direct  evangelistic  work  among  the 
people.  As  most  of  the  Protestants  in  France  are  Presbyterians,  those  of  a 
like  faith  in  the  United  States  and  Great  Britain  extend  help  to  existing  insti- 
tutions, instead  of  sending  out  their  own  laborers  as  missionary  agents. 

The  believers  in  Portugal  are  yet  few,  and  but  little  is  done  by  foreign  socie- 
ties to  reach  the  masses  of  the  people,  and  deliver  them  from  the  yoke  of 
Rome.  In  Spain  more  has  been  attempted,  and  aid  has  been  given  both  to 
the  Spanish  Christian  Church  and  to  other  agencies,  especially  by  Christians 
in  Great  Britain,  France,  and  Switzerland.  A  number  of  towns  have  been 
occupied  by  Protestant  ministers,  and  the  cause  was  making  slow,  yet  steady 
progress  when  the  late  sad  reaction  took  place  through  the  return  of  the  Bour- 
bons to  power.  Since  that,  it  is  evident  from  every  move  of  the  central  gov- 
ernment, that  it  has  fallen  under  the  blighting  influence  and  tyrannical  rule  of 
the  hierarchy  whose  aim  is  to  circumscribe  the  efforts  of  Protestant  mission- 
aries, and  then  to  crush  them.  This  seeming  reverse  to  the  truth  will  be  over- 
ruled in  God's  own  time  to  the  furtherance  of  the  Gospel. 


Papal  Europe.  5 

Belgium  has  a  small,  but  vigorous  Protestant  element.  The  Belgian  Evan- 
gelical Society  is  composed  chiefly  of  converts  from  Romanism,  and  is  assisted 
by  Christians  in  other  lands.  Italy  draws  to  itself,  as  the  head  of  the  Romish 
Church,  much  thought  and  interest.  Within  her  territory  are  a  people  who  are 
older  than  the  Papacy,  and  who  have  never  been  subject  to  it.  So  that  they 
are  in  no  sense  Protestants,  though  in  sympathy  with  them  in  their  views  and 
sentiments.  The  Waldensian  Church  has  for  ages  been  persecuted  by  the 
Pope  and  by  the  people  of  Italy,  and  various  attempts  made  to  exterminate  it 
utterly,  but  in  vain.  When  liberty  of  conscience  was  guaranteed  to  them  by 
the  Sardinian  monarch,  and  freedom  of  action  and  protection  in  their  aggres- 
sive movements  were  enjoyed,  they  became  missionaries,  and  seized  different 
points  as  centers  of  evangelization,  reared  churches,  established  schools, 
founded  a  hospital,  and,  in  time,  organized  a  theological  seminary,  which  is  in 
successful  operation  in  the  city  of  Florence.  This  Church  now  numbers  5 
presbyteries,  in  which  there  are  40  churches,  16  stations,  50  places  regularly 
visited,  and  103  agents,  including  pastors,  evangelists,  teachers,  and  colpor- 
teurs. It  has  on  its  roll  2,268  communicants,  and  has  1,847  pupils  in  the  day- 
schools.     It  is  endeavoring  to  make  each  mission  station  a  center  of  activity. 

The  Free  Church  of  Italy  was  formed  in  1870  by  the  union  of  churches 
which  had  chiefly  been  organized  through  foreign  help.  It  is  still  largely 
dependent  upon  this  same  support.  It  numbers  9  ordained  ministers,  13 
evangelists,  36  churches,  with  1,508  communicants.  Besides  these  two  evan- 
gelistic bodies,  the  Wesleyans  of  England  and  the  Methodists  of  the  United 
States  are  prosecuting  missionary  labor  ( with  energy  and  success.  The  Bap- 
tist and  other  churches,  especially  in  Great  Britain,  are  seeking  to  bring  the 
Italians  into  a  clearer  perception  of  Divine  truth,  and  into  a  hearty  and  saving 
reception  of  it.  Austria,  like  Italy,  has  taken  decided  ground  for  liberty  of 
conscience.  Within  her  territory  are  found  various  societies  at  work.  Here 
the  American  Board  has  established  a  mission,  and  some  of  the  Scotch 
churches  are  contributing  funds  for  the  spiritual  elevation  of  the  people.  All 
these  agencies  in  the  countries  named  indicate  progress  and  life.  Much  is 
done  through  them  for  the  enlightening  of  the  inhabitants  and  for  delivering 
them  from  Papal  sway.  More  should  be  done.  Our  own  Church  has  taken 
the  ground  that  as  native  agents  are  ready  in  these  countries  for  service,  and 
as  their  own  societies  are  poor  and  unable  to  meet  the  demands  upon  them, 
and  as  they  are  not  only  fitted  for  the  work,  but  acquainted  with  it,  it  is  a  wiser 
and  more  economical  use  of  the  means  to  support  these  laborers  than  to  send 
forth  those  who  are  ignorant  at  first  of  the  language  and  of  the  peculiarities 
of  the  fields  and  peoples.  The  Board  has,  therefore,  contributed  money  to 
various  societies  in  France,  Belgium,  Switzerland,  and  Italy,  without  anywhere 
organizing  a  distinct  mission  or  churches. 

The  Old  Catholic  movement  is  in  opposition  to  the  arrogant  claims  of  the 
Vatican.  Though  not  yet  a  formidable  body  as  to  numbers,  it  is  gradually  ad- 
vancing and  making  itself  felt.     There  is  a  freer  and  more  enlightened  public 


6  Papal  Ettrope. 

sentiment  among  the  Catholic  laity,  and  certain  works  recently  issued  are  hav- 
ing their  effect  upon  many.  A  Roman  Catholic  writer  in  Munich,  "  dwells 
with  vehemence  on  the  stagnation  of  educational  and  intellectual  life  in  Cath- 
olic countries  as  compared  with  Protestant  ones."  Vitelleschi,  a  Roman 
noble,  and  brother  of  a  cardinal,  treats  of  the  decay  of  Catholic  nations,  and 
attributes  it  to  their  life  and  institutions,  and  in  the  discussion  shows  the  evil 
effect  of  the  confessional,  etc.,  upon  individual  character  and  conscience. 
Lavelaye's  work  has  been  not  only  widely  circulated  in  France  and  Italy,  but 
has  been  translated  into  Portuguese  and  Spanish,  and  is  doing  excellent  serv- 
ice in  South  America  as  well  as  in  Europe.  He  shows  that  "  in  every  race — 
Latin,  Teuton,  or  Celtic — the  Papal  system  works  out  an  inferior  condition 
when  compared  with  the  same  race  under  Protestant  guidance." 

It  is  right  amid  much  that  is  depressing  to  view  the  present  status  of  the 
Romish  Church,  and  the  losses  which  it  has  suffered,  and  if  in  one  country — Great 
Britain — we  may  see  distinguished  converts  to  Rome,  and  a  boasting  of  her 
wonderful  advance  in  that  isle,  yet  it  is  true  that  the  Pope  has  fewer  adherents 
to-day  in  Britain  and  Ireland  than  he  had  at  his  accession,  though  the  gain  in 
this  time  in  population  is  over  five  millions.  The  hopes  and  fears  of  the  Vati- 
can are  concisely  sketched  by  Rev.  W.  Arthur  in  a  paper  read  before  the 
Evangelical  Alliance.  He  says  :  "  The  political  hopes  of  the  Papal  Church 
for  a  future  crusade  rest  chiefly  on  France  ;  their  religious  hopes  for  extensive 
conversions  on  England.  Italy  causes  them  embarrassment ;  Germany,  trep- 
idation, ill-conceived  by  vaunting  ;  Spain  and  Austria,  perplexity,  relieved  by 
only  a  feeble  hope  of  even  regaining  lost  ground.  Leaving  the  future  to  the 
light  which  only  the  future  will  bring,  the  results  of  the  past  during  the  present 
pontificate  may  be  summed  up  thus :  In  Poland,  we  have  a  great  decline  of 
Roman  Catholic  population  simultaneously  with  political  oppression  of  the 
Papal  Church  ;  in  Ireland,  a  great  decline  of  Roman  Catholic  population  sim- 
ultaneously with  great  political  benefits  to  the  Papal  Church  ;  in  Switzerland, 
a  serious  schism  ;  in  Germany,  a  schism  less  serious  in  proportion  to  numbers, 
far  more  so  in  elements  of  future  religious  power;  in  the  Levant,  both  schisms 
and  other  losses  ;  in  Italy,  Spain,  Portugal,  and  Austria,  the  loss  of  what  is 
called  Catholic  unity — that  is,  of  the  state  of  legislation  which  compels  every 
citizen  to  worship  God  as  directed  by  the  Pope  ;  in  each  of  these  countries,  a 
commencement  of  Protestant  churches,  as  yet  feeble,  but  steadily  growing. 
On  the  other  side  is  to  be  set  a  very  considerable  gain  in  influence  and  power 
in  France,  and  a  strange  prestige  among  a  portion  of  the  aristocracy  and  a 
portion  of  the  clergy  in  England.  In  the  year  1870,  the  Papacy  began  to  rule 
without  a  temporal  dominion.  It  will  probably  be  a  good  many  years  before 
the  effects  of  that  change  can  be  distinctly  traced.  Meantime,  it  is  manifest 
that  the  Pope  remains  of  the  conviction  that  the  temporal  dominion  is  a 
necessary  appendage  of  his  office,  essential  to  the  exercise  of  that  power  over 
the  whole  Church  which  he  claims  as  Vicar  of  Christ." 

In  spite  of  these  successes,  it  must  be  kept  in  mind  that  Rome  is  a  fearful 


Protestantism  and  Catholicism.  7 

power  to  contend  with.  She  has  assumption,  magnificence,  show,  to  awe, 
dazzle,  and  captivate.  She  has  a  skillfully  compacted  and  effective  organiza- 
tion to  hold  and  to  control  ;  she  has  wealth,  numbers,  political  influence,  and 
intellectual  resources  to  dominate,  overpower,  or  to  repel  attack  ;  she  has 
among  the  masses  a  vast  amount  of  ignorance  and  superstition  to  work  upon 
and  keep  in  sympathy  with  her  movements,  and  she  has  a  wily  priesthood,  and 
an  unscrupulous,  but  all-powerful,  band  of  Jesuits  to  aid  and  extend  her  power. 
But  all  these,  however,  united  and  consolidated,  can  not  ever  withstand  the 
truth.  Weakness  as  well  as  strength  is  hers,  and  the  Protestant  Church  is  armed 
with  the  simple  Gospel,  against  which  she  can  not  stand,  and  which  is  enough 
to  wield  for  her  overthrow. 


PROTESTANTISM    AND    CATHOLICISM     IN    THEIR    BEARING 
UPON   THE    LIBERTY   AND    PROSPERITY    OE   NATIONS. 

BY    EMILE    DE  'LAVELAYE. 

We  hear  much  at  the  present  day  of  the  decay  of  the  Latin  races.  It  is 
said  that  they  decline  rapidly,  and  that  the  future  belongs  both  to  the  Ger- 
manic and  to  the  Slavonic  race. 

I  do  not  believe  that  the  Latin  races  are  condemned  to  decline  on  account 
of  the  blood  which  flows  in  their  veins,  that  is  to  say,  in  consequence  of  any 
fatal  destiny  ;  fatal,  as  no  people  can  change  its  nature  or  modify  its  physical 
constitution  ;  but  the  fact  that  Catholic  races  advance  much  less  rapidly  than 
those  which  are  no  longer  Catholic,  and  that,  relatively  to  these  latter,  they  even 
seem  to  go  back,  appears  to  be  approved  both  by  history,  and  more  par- 
ticularly by  contemporary  events.  This  fact  is  so  manifest,  that  the  very 
bishops  themselves,  and  the  Univers,  their  organ  in  France,  make  it  a  text  of 
their  reproaches  to  unbelieving  Catholics. 

Different  reasons  prevent  my  attributing  this  undeniable  fact  to  influences 
of  race.  Undoubtedly,  the  fate  of  nations  depends  partly  on  their  physical 
constitution .  Even  if  we  turn  back  to  the  origin  of  things,  two  causes  only 
can  be  found  capable  of  explaining  the  different  destinies  of  various  nations, 
viz.,  race,  and  surrounding  circumstances ; — on  the  one  hand,  the  constitution 
of  man  :  on  the  other,  the  influence  of  external  nature — the  climate,  the  geo- 
graphical position,  the  products  of  the  soil,  the  aspect  of  the  country,  the 
food.  But  in  point  of  fact,  when  the  question  relates  to  nations  of  such  mixed 
blood  as  that  of  Europeans,  who,  moreover,  descend  from  a  common  stock,  it 
is  very  difficult  to  connect  the  social  conditions  with  the  influence  of  race  with 
any  degree  of  scientific  certainty. 

V' "The  English  understand  the  parliamentary  system  and  the  exercise  of  prac- 
tical liberty  better  than  the  French.  Is  this  owing  to  the  influence  of  blood  ? 
I  do  not  think  so  ;  for  until  near  the  sixteenth  century,  France,  Spain,  and 
Italy    possessed    provincial    liberties    of    a   very   similar   character    to    En- 


8  Protestantis7ii  a,7id  Catholicisin. 

glish  liberties.  The  only  notable  difference  was,  that  the  English  had 
a  single  parliament,  and  a  centralized  system,  which  proved  strong  enough 
to  hold  its  own  against  royalty.  The  Norman  Conquest  having  united 
England,  a  united  parliament  was  the  result ;  and  royalty  being  very  powerful, 
nobles  and  commons  combined  to  resist  it,  whereas  elsewhere  they  were  con- 
stantly at  strife. 

The  destinies  of  France  and  P^ngland  only  become  entirely  different  from 
the  beginning  of  the  sixteenth  century,  when  the  Puritans  had  defeated  the 
Stuarts,  and  when  Louis  XIV.,  by  expelling  the  Protestants  from  France,  had 
extirpated  the  last  remnants  of  local  autonomy,  and  the  sole  important  ele- 
ments of  resistance,  with  which  despotism  might  have  been  opposed. 

When  Protestants  of  Latin  race  are  seen  to  rise  superior  to  Germanic  but 
Catholic  populations  ;  when  in  one  and  the  same  country,  and  one  and  the 
same  group,  identical  in  language  and  identical  in  origin,  it  can  be  affirmed 
that  Protestants  advance  more  rapidly  and  steadily  than  Catholics,  it  is  diffi- 
cult not  to  attribute  the  superiority  of  the  one  over  the  other  to  the  religion 
they  profess. 

Sectarian  passions  or  anti-religious  prejudice  have  been  too  often  imported 
into  the  study  of  these  questions.  It  is  time  thj:t  we  should  apply  to  it  the 
method  of  observation  and  the  scientific  impartiality  of  the  physiologist  and 
the  naturalist.  When  the  facts  are  once  established,  irrefragable  conclusions 
will  follow. 

It  is  admitted  that  the  Scotch  and  Irish  are  of  the  same  origin.  Both  have 
become  subject  to  the  English  yoke.  Until  the  sixteenth  century  Ireland  was 
much  more  civilized  than  Scotland.  During  the  first  part  of  the  Middle  Ages 
the  Emerald  Isle  was  a  focus  of  civilization,  while  Scotland  was  still  a  den  of 
barbarians. 

Since  the  Scotch  have  embraced  the  Reformed  religion,  they  have  outrun 
even  the  English.  The  climate  and  the  nature  of  the  soil  prevent  Scotland 
being  as  rich  as  England  ;  but  Macaulay  proves  that,  since  the  seventeenth 
century,  the  Scotch  have  in  every  way  surpassed  the  English.  Ireland,  on  the 
other  hand,  devoted  to  Ultramontanism,  is  poor,  miserable,  agitated  by  the 
spirit  of  rebellion,  and  seems  incapable  of  raising  herself  by  her  own  strength. 

What  a  contrast,  even  in  Ireland,  between  the  exclusively  Catholic  Con- 
naught,  and  Ulster,  where  Protestantism  prevails  ! 

Ulster  is  enriched  by  industry,  Connaught  presents  a  picture  of  desolation. 

I  will  not  allow  myself  to  establish  any  comparison  between  the  United 
States  and  the  States  of  South  America,  or  between  the  nations  of  the  North 
and  those  of  the  South  of  Europe.  The  differences  which  are  to  be  observed 
might  be  explained  by  the  influence  of  climate  or  of  race.  But  let  us  go  to 
Switzerland,  and  compare  the  condition  of  the  Cantons  of  Neuchatel,  Yand,  and 
Geneva  (more  particularly  before  the  recent  immigration  of  the  Savoy  Catholics), 
with  that  of  Lucerne,  Haut-Valais,  and  the  forest  Cantons.  The  former  are 
extraordinarily  in  advance  of  the  latter  in  respect  of  education,  literature,  the 


Protestantism  and  Catholicism.  9 

fine  arts,  industry,  commerce,  riches,  cleanliness  ;  in  a  word,  civilization  in  all 
its  aspects  and  in  all  its  senses. 

The  first  are  Latin,  but  Protestant;  the  second  German,  but  subject  to 
Rome.  Surely  it  is  religion,  and  not  race,  which  is  the  cause  of  the  superi- 
ority of  the  former. 

Let  us  now  turn  to  a  single  Canton,  that  of  Appenzell,  inhabited  throughout 
by  an  entirely  identical  Germanic  population.  The  very  same  contrast  pre- 
sents itself  between  the  Catholic  "Rhodes  interieures"  and  the  Protestant 
"  Rhodes  exterieures,"  as  exists  between  the  inhabitants  of  Neuchatel  and 
those  of  Lucerne  or  Uri.  On  the  one  hand,  education,  activity,  industry,  rela- 
tions with  the  outer  world,  and  by  necessary  consequence,  wealth.  On  the 
other,  inertia,  routine,  ignorance,  and  poverty. 

Wherever  the  two  religions  exist  together  in  the  same  country,  the  Protest- 
ants are  more  active,  more  industrious,  more  economical,  and  consequently 
richer,  than  the  Catholics. 

"  In  the  United  States,"  says  Tocqueville,  "  the  greater  part  of  the 
Catholics  are  poor." 

In  Canada,  all  important  concerns,  manufactures,  commerce,  and  the  prin- 
cipal shops  in  the  towns,  are  in  the  hands  of  Protestants. 

M.  Audiganne,  in  his  remarkable  studies  on  "  the  working  classes  of 
France,"  observes  the  superiority  of  Protestants  in  industrial  enterprise,  and 
his  evidence  is  the  more  trustworthy  that  he  does  not  attribute  this  superiority 
to  Protestantism.  "  The  majority  of  the  operatives  of  the  town  of  Nismes," 
he  says,  "  notably  the  silk  weavers  are  Catholics,  while  the  leaders  of  industry 
and  commerce,  in  a  word  the  capitalists,  belong  in  general  to  the  Reformed 
religion." 

"  When  a  single  family  has  divided  itself  into  two  branches,  the  one  remain- 
ing in  the  bosom  of  its  ancestral  faith,  the  other  enrolling  itself  under  the  ban- 
ner of  the  new  doctrines,  you  may  nearly  always  remark  in  the  one  case  in- 
creasing embarrassments,  in  the  other,  growing  wealth."  "  At  Mazamet,  the 
Elbceuf  of  the  south  of  France,"  says  M.  Audiganne,  "  all  the  leaders  of  indus- 
try, except  one,  are  Protestant,  while  the  great  majority  of  workmen  are 
Catholic.  There  is  less  education  among  these  latter  than  among  the  work- 
ing families  of  the  Protestant  class." 

Before  the  Revocation  of  the  Edict  of  Nantes,  the  Protestants  took  the  lead 
in  all  branches  of  labor,  and  the  Catholics,  unable  to  compete  with  them  on 
equal  terms,  caused  them  to  be  forbidden  the  exercise  of  various  industries  in 
which  they  excelled,  by  several  successive  edicts,  dating  from  1662.  After 
their  banishment  from  France,  the  Protestants  brought  into  England,  Prussia, 
and  Holland  their  spirit  of  enterprise  and  thrift,  and  enriched  every  district  in 
which  they  settled.  It  is  partly  to  reformed  Latins  that  the  Germans  owe  their 
progress.  The  refugees  of  the  Revocation  introduced  various  manufactures 
into  England,  that  of  silk  among  others  ;  and  the  disciples  of  Calvin  were  the 
civilizers  of  Scotland. 


io  Protestantism   and  Catholicism. 

If  we  compare  the  quotations  on  the  Exchange  of  the  public  funds  of  Prot- 
estant and  Catholic  States,  we  shall  find  a  great  difference.  The  English  3 
per  cents,  are  above  92  ;  the  French  3  per  cents,  average  60.  The  Dutch, 
Prussian,  Danish,  and  Swedish  funds  are  at  least  at  par;  in  Austria,  Italy, 
Spain,  and  Portugal  they  are  lower  by  30  or  50  per  cent. 

Throughout  Germany,  at  the  present  day,  the  trade  in  intellectual  works — 
such  as  books,  reviews,  maps,  newspapers — is  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
Jews  and  Protestants. 

In  the  presence  of  all  these  concurring  facts,  it  is  difficult  not  to  confess 
that  it  is  religion,  and  not  race,  which  is  the  cause  of  the  extraordinary 
prosperity  of  certain  nations. 

The  Reformation  imparted  to  those  countries  which  adopted  it  a  force 
which  history  can  hardly  explain. 

Take  the  Low  Countries  :  we  have  there  two  millions  of  men  upon  a  soil 
half  sand,  half  marsh ;  they  resist  Spain  at  a  time  when  she  holds  Europe  in 
her  hand,  and  no  sooner  are  they  freed  from  the  Castilian  yoke,  than  they 
cover  all  the  seas  with  their  flag  ;  they  lead  the  van  of  the  intellectual  world  ; 
they  possess  as  many  ships  as  all  the  rest  of  the  Continent  put  together ;  they 
become  the  soul  of  all  the  great  European  coalitions  ;  they  hold  their  own  against 
the  allied  powers  of  England  and  France  ;  they  present  to  the  United  States 
that  type  of  federal  union  which  gives  scope  to  the  indefinite  growth  of  the 
great  Republic  ;  and  they  set  the  example  of  those  financial  combinations  which 
contribute  so  powerfully  to  the  actual  development  of  wealth — banks  of  issue 
and  joint  stock  companies. 

Sweden,  with  her  million  of  men,  and  her  rocky  soil  buried  in  snow  for 
six  months  of  the  year,  intervenes  on  the  Continent,  under  Gustavus  Adolphus, 
with  heroic  might,  defeats  Austria  by  the  hand  of  her  marvelous  strategists, 
Wrangel,  Torstenson,  and  Banner,  and  saves  the  cause  of  the  Reformation. 
At  the  present  day,  England  is  the  mistress  of  the  seas,  the  first  among  indus- 
trial and  commercial  nations ;  in  Asia,  she  rules  over  two  hundred  millions  of 
men,  and  covers  the  globe  with  swarms  from  her  own  hive.  Sir  Charles 
Dilke's  fine  book,  "  Greater  Britain,"  presents  the  reader  with  a  picture  of 
Anglo-Saxon  power  throughout  the  world.  The  United  States  increase  with 
bewildering  rapidity.  They  reckon  forty-two  million  inhabitants.  Toward 
the  end  of  the  century  their  population  will  be  one  hundred  millions.  Al- 
ready they  are  the  richest  and  most  powerful  people  on  the  face  of  the  globe. 

Protestant  Prussia  has  defeated  two  empires,  each  containing  twice  her  own 
population,  the  one  in  seven  weeks,  the  other  in  seven  months.  In  two  cen- 
turies, America,  Australia,  and  Southern  Africa  will  belong  to  the  heretical 
Anglo-Saxons,  and  Asia  to  the  schismatic  Slaves. 

The  nations  subject  to  Rome  seem  stricken  with  barrenness  ;  they  no  longer 
colonize  ;  they  have  no  powers  of  expansion.  The  expression  employed  by  M. 
Thiers  to  depict  their  religious  capital,  Rome,  Ttduitas  et  steri/itus,  might  be 
also  applied  to  themselves.     Their  past  is  brilliant,  but  their  present  is  gloomy, 


Protestantism  and  Catholicism.  1 1 

and  their  future  disquieting.  Can  there  be  a  sadder  situation  than  that  of 
Spain  ?  France,  which  has  rendered  such  services  to  the  world,  is  also  greatly 
to  be  pitied,  not  because  she  has  been  conquered  on  the  field  of  battle — mili- 
tary reverses  may  be  repaired — but  because  it  seems  her  fate  to  be  ceaseless- 
ly tossed  to  and  fro  between  despotism  and  anarchy.  Even  now,  at  the  mo- 
ment when,  in  order  to  recover  herself,  she  requires  the  harmonious  action  of 
all  her  sons,  the  extreme  parties  are  contending  for  pre-eminence,  at  the  risk 
of  another  outburst  of  civil  war.  Ultramontanism  is  the  cause  of  the  misfor- 
tunes of  France.  This  it  is  which  has  weakened  the  country  by  that  baneful 
course  of  action  which  we  will  analyze  further  on.  This  it  was  which,  through 
the  Empress  Eugenie,  an  organ  of  the  clerical  party,  brought  about  the  Mexi- 
can expedition  in  order  to  raise  up  the  Catholic  nations  of  America,  and  the 
Prussian  war  in  order  to  impede  the  progress  of  the  Protestant  States  of 
Europe.* 

Italy  and  Belgium  appear  more  prosperous  than  France  and  Spain  ;  but  is 
liberty  definitely  established  in  those  countries  ?  Able  minds  doubt  it.  Re- 
cently a  Roman  journal,  II  Diritto,  published  a  remarkable  work  on  the  situa- 
tion of  Italy,  with  the  significant  title,  "  LTtalia  nera."  "  The  nations  subject  to 
the  Pope  are  either  dead  already  or  dying,"  exclaims  the  author  with  consterna- 
tion :  "  I  popoli  di  religione  papale  o  sono  gia  morti  o  vanno  morendi."  "  If,"  he 
adds,  "  Italy  appears  less  sickly,  the  reason  is,  that  the  clergy,  expecting  the  res- 
toration of  the  Pope,  first  by  means  of  Austrian,  now  by  means  of  French  inter- 
vention, have  not  as  yet  attacked  liberty  and  the  constitution  from  within. 
The  clerical  party  held  aloof  during  the  elections  ;  but  all  this  will  be  changed. 
The  clergy  have  already  entered  the  arena  at  Naples,  Rome,  and  Bologna. 
The  Church  covers  the  country  with  associations  inspired  by  the  Jesuits,  and 
the  congregations  seize  upon  the  rising  generation,  whom  they  bring  up  in  the 
hatred  of  Italy  and  her  institutions."  This  view  is  just.  Italy  is  at  present  in 
the  condition  in  which  PVance  found  herself  after  1789,  and  Belgium  after 
1830  :  the  breath  of  liberty  is  carrying  before  it  the  whole  nation,  even  the 
clergy.  Patriotism,  the  hope  of  a  brilliant  future,  the  enthusiasm  of  progress — 
these  inflame  all  hearts  and  efface  all  dissensions  ;  but  before  long,  incompati- 
bility must  break  out  between  modern  civilization  and  Roman  ideas.  The 
clergy,  and  especially  the  Jesuits,  in  obedience  to  the  voice  of  Rome,  are  al- 
ready setting  to  work  to  undermine  the  barely  established  edifice  of  political 
liberty.     This  is  precisely  what  has  happened  in  Belgium  since  1840. 

One  of  the  authors  of  the  Belgian  constitution,  perhaps  the  most  distinguished 
among  them,  said  to  me  lately,  with  heartfelt  sorrow  :  "  We  believed  that  all 
that  was  necessary  to  found  liberty  was  to  proclaim  it  by  separating   Church 


*  So  it  was  recently  asserted  by  Prince  Bismarck  from  the  tribune  at  Berlin.  The 
Empress  in  July,  1870,  said  :  "  This  is  my  war."  The  decision  in  favor  of  war,  in  the 
Supreme  Council  of  Saint  Cloud,  on  the  14th  of  August,  was  her  doing.  The  Emperor 
was  well  aware  of  the  danger,  and  reluctant  to  the  last. 


12  Protestantism  and  Catholicism. 

and  State.  I  begin  to  think  that  we  deceived  ourselves.  The  Church,  relying 
on  the  country  districts,  seeks  to  impose  her  absolute  power.  The  great  cities 
which  have  given  in  their  adhesion  to  modern  ideas  will  not  let  themselves  be 
enslaved  without  attempting  resistance.  We  are  tending,  like  France,  toward 
civil  war.  We  are  already  in  a  revolutionary  position.  The  future  appears  to 
me  big  with  troubles."  The  last  elections  of  1874  have  begun  to  bring  the 
danger  to  light.  The  elections  for  the  Chambers  have  strengthened  the  clerical 
party,  while  those  for  the  Communes  have  given  power  to  the  liberals  in  all 
the  large  towns.  Antagonism  between  the  towns  and  the  provinces,  which  is 
one  of  the  causes  of  civil  war  in  France,  begins  already  to  show  itself  in  Bel- 
gium also.  As  long  as  the  government  remains  in  the  hands  of  prudent  men, 
who  are  more  disposed  to  serve  their  country  than  to  obey  the  bishops,  grave 
disorders  need  not  be  apprehended.  But  if  the  fanatics,  who  openly  accept 
the  Syllabus  as  their  political  programme,  should  attain  to  power,  terrible 
shocks  would  follow. 

The  Catholic  countries  on  both  sides  of  the  Atlantic  are  thus  a  prey  to  in- 
ternal struggles  which  consume  their  strength,  or  at  least  prevent  them  from 
advancing  as  steadily  and  rapidly  as  Protestant  nations. 

Two  centuries  ago  supremacy  belonged  incontestably  to  the  Catholic  States. 
The  others  were  only  powers  of  the  second  order.  Now,  put  on  one  side  France, 
Austria,  Spain,  Italy,  and  South  America,  and  on  the  other  Russia,  the  Empire 
of  Germany,  England,  and  North  America — clearly  the  predominance  has 
passed  over  to  the  heretics  and  schismatics.  M.  Levasseur  read  of  late,  be- 
fore L'Institut,  a  curious  work,  in  which  he  shows  that  in  1700,  France  alone 
represented  31  per  cent.,  or  one-third,  of  the  force  of  the  five  great  Powers 
together  ;  whereas  now,  counting  six  great  European  Powers,  she  possesses  no 
more  than  15  per  cent.,  or  one-sixth  part  of  their  total  force.* 

To  the  eye  of  every  man  who  desires  to  consult  facts  without  a  foregone 
conclusion,  it  is  thus  manifest  that  Protestantism  is  more  favorable  than 
Catholicism  to  the  development  of  nations. 


*  "  Compte-rendu  des  seances  dc  L'Institut,"  by  M.  Verge,  November  number,  1S72. 
The  population  of  France  was  increasing  very  slowly.  In  the  last  quinquennial  period 
it  diminished  by  366,000  without  counting,  o  f  course,  the  loss  of  Alsace  and  Lorraine. 


3, 


Av  SURVEY  OF  MISSIONARY  OPERATIONS. 


During  the  latter  part  of  the  last  century  there  seemed  to  be  simul- 
taneous movements  in  the  kingdoms  of  darkness  and  of  light  for  greater 
ascendancy  and  power.  The  infidels  of  France  sowed  the  seeds  of  the  rev- 
olutionary whirlwind,  and  their  principles  permeated  many  lands.  At 
this  very  time  other  principles  became  active,  whose  beneficent  and  ex- 
tending influence  has  been  felt  by  many  nations.  Thus,  whilst  the  French 
monarch  was  expiring  on  the  scaffold,  Carey  was  on  his  way  to  India  with 
the  gospel  of  peace ;  and  whilst  Napoleon,  the  apostle  of  a  new  order  of 
things,  as  he  was  heralded,  was  laying  the  foundation  of  a  sovereignty  that 
was  to  live,  as  he  and  others  imagined,  for  ages,  ambassadors  of  the  Lord 
Jesus  were  beginning  work, to  raise  the  down-trodden,  elevate  the  degraded, 
and  bring  the  vilest  and  the  lost  under  the  power  of  truth,  and  into  con- 
nection with  a  kingdom  which  the  men  of  the  world  derided,  whose 
agencies  they  scoffed,  and  whose  puny  efforts  they  despised.  "  The 
wretch,"  whom  Voltaire  sought  to  "  crush,"  lives  in  myriads  of  homes  and 
hearts,  who  had  then  never  heard  of  Jesus.  When  this  vaunting  infidel 
uttered  this  blasphemous  expression,  the  seeds  of  the  modern  Missionary 
enterprise  were  sowing,  and  the  very  cause  which  he  and  his  associates  in 
infidelity  boasted  that  they  would  utterly  exterminate,  has  grown,  and  has 
wonderfully  extended  by  reason  of  this  movement. 

Eighty  years  ago,  and  with  the  exception  of  the  Society  of  the  Moravian 
Church,  and  that  for  the  Propagation  of  the  Gospel  in  Foreign  Parts,  no 
other  had  been  established,  and  when  this  century  dawned  upon  the  world, 
a  few  more  had  been  organized,  but  these  had  only  begun  work,  and 
could  not  point  to  the  planting  of  a  single  church,  nor  the  baptism  of  a 
single  convert. 

When  this  movement  began,  the  indifference  to  missions  was  profound, 
and  the  opposition  of  not  a  few  leaders  in  Israel  was  strong  and  marked. 
Two  overtures  were  laid  before  the  General  Assembly  of  the  Church  of 
Scotland,  in  1796,  recommending  a  favorable  consideration  of  the  missionary 
scheme ;  it  was  denounced  as  "  illusive,"  "  visionary,"  and  "  dangerous," 
by  the  Moderates,  and  the  overtures  were  dismissed,  mainly  on  the  ground 
"  that  it  was  improper  and  absurd  to  propagate  the  gospel  abroad  while 
there  remained  a  single  individual  at  home  without  the  means  of  religious 
knowledge."  In  1783  the  Bishop  of  St.  Asaph  publicly  declared  that 
"  the  obligation  said  to  be  incumbent  on  Christians  to  promote  their  faith 
throughout  the  w7orld,  had  ceased  with  the  supernatural  gift  which  at- 
tended the  commission  of  the  Apostles."  For  ten  years  after  the  organi- 
zation of  the  Church  Missionary  Society,  not  a  single  missionary  could  be 
obtained  in  the  English  Church  for  abroad, — its  laborers  came  from 
Germany.  Carey  was  denounced  by  not  a  few,  in  his  own  denomination, 
as  an  enthusiast,  and  beside  himself,  for  even  proposing   the  Christian's 


2  A   Survey  of  Missionary  Operations. 

duty  to  the  heathen.  The  very  year  that  Mills  and  Eiee  were  founding 
their  Missionary  Society,  at  William's  College,  a  clergyman  of  the  Church 
of  England  was  ridiculing  ~  Brother  Carey's  Journal,"  and  showing  the 
folly  of  sending  missionaries  to  India.  But  the  day  for  calling  names, 
and  for  defending  missions  against  such  ignorant  attacks,  as  those  of 
Sydney  Smith  ami  Scott  Waring,  is  past.  The  cause  speaks  for  itself! 
The  noble  dee. Is  of  the  great  moral  heroes  engaged  in  it  have  produced 
results  which  arc  lauded  by  our  race. 

"Whither  shall  we  go?"  was  the  cry  of  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety, when  considering  what  fields  were  open  for  evangelistic  labor.  The 
world  was  literally  closed.  Mohammedanism  strictly  guarded  every  door 
of  approach;  Ihiddhism  allowed  no  entrance  ;  the  Greek  and  Papal 
Churches  would  tolerate  no  aggression  upon  their  domain  ;  nominally 
Christian  companies,  like  the  East  India  in  Pagandom,  would  tolerate  no 
evangelistic  efforts,  and  if  any  entered  their  possessions,  it  was  ostensibly 
for  another  purpose,  and  under  another  name.  Carey  could  find  no  home 
in  British  India,  ami  Judson,  in  after  years,  was  driven  from  its  shores. 
Morrison,  for  fear  of  being  sent  out  of  China,  lived  for  a  time  a  prisoner  in 
his  own  house,  and  walked  out  at  night  by  stealth.  Milne  was  compelled 
to  leave  China  and  settle  at  Malacca.  No  missionary  could  enter  Japan, 
and  if  he  went  to  some  other  lands  to  toil  for  Christ,  it  was  at  the  peril 
of  his  life.  No  wonder,  then,  that  the  Church's  cry  for  years  was  tor  an 
open  door.  How  the  Lord  heard  and  answered  this  petition  is  evident 
from  the  wide  and  effectual  openings  for  missionary  effort  in  almost 
every  land.  Trace  what  has  been  done  in  our  own  continent,  in 
South  America,  in  Europe  and  Asia,  and  it  will  be  seen  what  marked 
changes  have  taken  place  within  a  few  years.  Mexico  has  thrown  off 
priestly  jade,  and  guarantees  liberty  of  conscience  ;  the  various  states,  re- 
publics and  empires  in  South  America  recognize  the  free  toleration  of  re- 
ligious opinions,  and  in  most  of  them  the  missionary  is  found.  The  isolation 
of  Japan  is  gone,  and  some  of  her  sons  are  in  our  own  institutions,  studying 
foreign  science,  arts  and  religion ;  the  huge  wall  that  China  built  up  to 
seclude  her  children  from  the  outside  world,  has  wholly  disappeared. 
The  gospel  has  free  course  in  Burmah,  Siam,  and  India  Mohammedan 
Persia  has  received  our  missionaries,  and  the  Turkish  Empire  is  dotted 
with  them.  Austria  is  liberalized,  Italy  is  free,  Rome  has  Protestant 
churches  and  schools,  while  the  Bible  is  sold  in  her  streets.  Spain  and 
Portugal  are  accessible  to  the  missionary.  It  is  no  longer  suffering  or 
death  to  be  a  follower  of  Jesus  in  Madagascar — the  country  is  Christian. 
Yea,  look  in  almost  every  direction  and  the  gospel  has  free  course.  It  is 
no  longer  bound. 

Then,  what  great  advance  in  contributions  to  the  missionary  cause. 
How  has  the  sum  swelled  from  the  first  collection  at  Kettering,  England, 
of  £13  2s.  6d.,  to  the  present  offerings  for  missions.  Some  of  the  sums 
which  were  deemed  magnificent  in  the  early  stages  of  the  work,  are  now 
considered  only  ordinary,  ami  these  will  pale  before  the  wealth  that  is  yet 
to  be  consecrated  to  the  Lord  of  glory. 

What  wonderful  strides  in  the  publication  and  diffusion  of  missionary 
intelligence  since  the  Evangelical  Magazine  promised  to  devote  one  page, 
at  least,  a  month,  to  this  particular  department.  More  than  a  million 
copies,  from  the  different  missionary  societies,  and  in  various  forms,  are 
issued  monthly,  while  the  press  is  constantly  sending  forth  works  bearing 
on  this  theme — some  of  them  highly  pictorial. 

We  cannot  detail  the  great  and  wondrous  events  that  have  taken  place  in 


A   Survey  of  Missionary  Operations.  3 

the  missionary  world,  or  the  manner  in  which  they  followed  one  another. 
We  cannot  refer  to  the  heroic  men  and  women  who  have  been  foremost  in 
this  enterprise,  nor  to  their  great  achievements  in  different  parts  of  the 
earth.  We  cannot  picture  the  self  sacrificing  spirit,  the  moral  daring,  the 
firmness  and  fortitude  of  many  who  have  witnessed  a  good  confession  for 
Jesus  in  heathen  and  Mohammedan  lands.  We  can  only  touch  upon  the 
fields  where  the  laborers  are  at  work,  and  mark  some  of  their  successes. 

In  Labrador  and  Greenland,  where  the  truth  has  long  been  proclaimed, 
are  some  who  are  still  aided  by  missionary  funds.  Among  the  Indian 
tribes  of  our  own  country,  and  in  the  British  possessions,  are  more  than 
one  hundred  missionaries  at  work  seeking  their  civilization  and  their 
spiritual  renovation,  by  the  gospel  of  Jesus.  Many  deem  this  a  hopeless 
task,  and  when  we  consider  the  obstacles  in  their  unsettled  state,  in  their 
deep  degradation  and  low  civilization,  in  their  ignorance  and  repugnance 
to  a  settled  life  ;  in  the  wrongs  they  have  suffered  from  Christian  nations, 
in  the  evils  introduced  among  them  by  those  bearing  the  name  of  Christ, 
we  may  say  that  the  hindrances  in  their  way  to  an  acceptance  of  Christi- 
anity are  very  great.  Yet,  the  all  conquering  power  of  the  gospel  is  seen 
in  the  thousands  led  to  Christ  among  the  Cherokees,  Choctaws,  Semi- 
noles,  Dakotas,  Senecas,  in  Rupert's  Land,  etc.,  showing  that  no  barrier  is 
too  great  to  the  introduction  and  power  of  the  religion  of  the  Cross. 
Though  Mexico  has  been  open  but  a  short  time,  and  as  yet  few  laborers 
have  entered  upon  the  work  in  the  different  provinces,  trophies  have 
been  won,  churches  have  been  planted,  and  native  agents  employed  in  dis- 
seminating truth.  Soon  others  will  be  actively  engaged  in  preaching  the 
word  and  making  aggressive  attacks  upon  the  Papal  power. 

Much  has  been  accomplished  in  the  West  Indies,  in  the  instruction  and 
elevation  of  the  people.  Tens  of  thousands  are  enrolled  as  members  of  the 
church,  and  many  have  been  elevated  socially  and  intellectually  by  reason 
of  missionary  effort.  In  several  of  the  South  American  States  evangelists 
are  busily  employed  in  seeking  to  bring  the  people  into  living  union  with 
Christ.  At  certain  points  the  gospel  has  been  eminently  successful ;  at 
others  a  preliminary  work  has  been  done  which  will  tell  in  after  years.  It 
is  only  a  few  years  since  our  Board  entered  Brazil ;  already  are  six  organ- 
ized churches,  with  more  than  three  hundred  members,  two  ordained 
ministers,  and  two  licentiate  preachers. 

Japan  is  already  occupied  by  several  missionary  societies,  whose 
workers  are  longing  for  the  time  when  the  death  penalty  for  professing  faith 
in  Christ  will  be  removed,  and  when  the  fullest  toleration  will  be  guaranteed 
by  the  authorities  throughout  the  islands.  The  Bible  is  being  translated, 
a  religious  literature  will  gradually  be  provided,  and  it  is  hoped  that  soon 
many  will  be  added  to  the  few  who  have  been  baptized. 

China,  like  Japan,  was  determined  to  exclude  the  hated  religion  of  the 
foreigner.  How  Morrison  was  treated  we  have  seen,  and  his  long  resi- 
dence in  that  country  was  only  owing  to  his  official  relations  with  the 
East  India  Company,  and  they  would  have  severed  the  relation  and 
sent  him  from  China  if  they  could  have  dispensed  with  his  services. 
In  1826  there  was  an  edict  issued  declaring  that  the  propagator  of  new 
doctrines  should  be  put  to  death,  and  when  attempts  were  made,  in 
1835,  to  introduce  Christian  books  into  the  country,  another  edict  was 
issued,  commanding  the  governor  of  Canton  to  discover  the  offenders. 
Freedom  to  enter  certain  ports  was  granted  a  few  years  afterwards, 
but  the  prohibitory  laws  against  Christianity  remained  in  force,  and  it 
was  not  till  1861  that  full  liberty  was  given  to  the  Chinese  to  embrace 


4  A  Survey  of  Missionary  Operations. 

Christianity.  Now,  in  some  twelve  or  thirteen  of  her  provinces  are 
nearly  one  hundred  and  fifty  stations  and  outstalions  supplied  by  over 
one  hundred  foreign  missionaries,  a  number  of  unmarried  ladies,  and 
medical  missionaries,  with  several  ordained  native  preachers,  and  hundreds 
of  native  helpers.  In  the  different  churches  are  enrolled  some  seven 
thousand  communicants,  whose  influence  is  already  felt,  as  seen  in  the 
anxiety  and  efforts  of  the  authorities  to  suppress  the  spread  of  Christi- 
anity. 

The  changes  going  on  in  Siam,  and  among  the  Laos,  and  the  privileges 
guaranteed  to  the  missionaries,  so  different  from  the  time  they  first 
visited  these  countries,  are  signs  of  a  better  day.  The  great  achieve- 
ments of  the  gospel  in  Burmah,  and  the  bright  displays  of  the  truth 
among  the  Karens  are  known  all  over  the  Christian  world.  But 
how  different  is  the  position  of  the  foreign  laborer  to-day.  from  that  of 
Judson  in  the  prison,  or  in  his  hut,  and  yet,  between  them  is  only  an 
interval  of  a  few  years.  No  one  has  now  "  to  prostrate  himself  at  the 
golden  feet "  of  an  earthly  ruler,  and  ask  permission  to  stay  in  his  dominions 
and  preach  the  gospel  of  the  Son  of  God,  and  the  laborer  has  no  longer 
to  wait  to  see  one  in  earnest  about  the  salvation  of  his  soul.  There  a 
redeemed  people  are  already  at  work  supporting  their  pastors  with  the 
most  active  and  self-denying  zeal,  contemplating  with  compassion  the  sad 
state  of  their  heathen  countrymen,  and  sending  forth  from  their  owu 
communion  those  who  are  ready  to  preach  Christ  to  tribes  living  in  the 
mountains  and  the  dense  jungles  of  their  own  wild  land. 

If  we  turn  to  India,  that  fearful  stronghold  of  moral  evil,  where  Satan 
has  ruled  undisturbed  for  ages,  where  the  whole  network  of  society,  in 
its  social,  civil,  and  religious  bearings  is  designed  to  consolidate  his  reign 
and  maintain  his  supremacy,  where,  within  the  memory  of  some  yet  living, 
a  good  man  advertised  for  a  Christian  in  Calcutta,  and  the  flag  had  to 
be  hoisted  to  tell  the  nominal  Christians  there  gathered  for  traffic,  that 
it  was  the  Sabbath;  where  the  missionary  was  forbidden  to  enter,  and 
where  the  great  Indian  Government — after  missionaries  were  permitted 
to  labor — issued  au  edict  "  that  they  were  not  to  preach  to  the  natives  or 
suffer  the  native  converts  to  do  so  ;  nut  to  distribute  religious  tracts,  nor 
take  any  step,  by  conversion  or  otherwise,  to  persuade  the  natives  to  em- 
brace Christianity  ;"  where  Henry  Martyn  was  deemed  a  bigot  and  des- 
pised ;  where  Carey  and  Marsh  man  were  ridiculed  and  insulted  ;  where 
proselytism  was  dreaded  and  denounced,  this  land  is  now  open  from  one 
end  to  the  other,  and  instead  of  a  few  straggling  preachers,  and  a  smaller 
number  of  stations,  there  are  now  found  in  it,  and  in  Burmah,  550  mis- 
sionaries, 628  stations,  with  many  outstations,  400  native  preachers,  '2,800 
native  helpers,  70,857  commuuicants,  and  137,326  scholars  of  both  sexes, 
in  schools  under  Christian  influence  and  training.  But  this,  as  elsewhere, 
is  but  a  small  portion  of  what  has  been  accomplished  of  direct  evangelistic 
work.  The  cruelties  of  heathenism  have  been  greatly  modified  ;  infanticide 
prohibited  ;  Sutteism  abolished  ;  the  government  no  longer  sustains  idolatry 
by  grants,  but  aids  Christian  schools;  yea,  I  he  very  government  that 
sought  to  suppress  all  evangelistic  efforts  is  broken  and  helpless,  and  the 
power  which  they  ridiculed  is  mighty.  The  things  referred  to  have  not 
only  been  achieved  by  it,  but  it  has  changed  the  law  of  inheritance  so  that 
the  convert  is  protected  in  his  rights,  and  the  faith  he  professes  is  every- 
where recognized.  It  is  working  wonderful  changes  in  the  social  fabric, 
as  in  the  education  and  moral  elevation  of  woman,  it  has  permeated  so- 
ciety with  Christian  knowledge,  and  has   undermined  the  faith  of  myriads 


A   Survey  of  Missionary  Operations.  5 

in  their  own  false  systems.     India,  in   its  knowledge   of  the  truth,  needs 
only  the  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  to  make  it  wholly  a  Christian  land. 

The  great  Buddhistic  and  Brahminical  Empires  are  not  only  trod  by 
earnest  evangelists,  but  they  are  at  work  in  Mohammedan  lands,  and 
these  are  largely  from  a  country  unknown  to  the  ancients,  nowhere 
alluded  to  in  Scripture,  and  only  recognised  as  a  Christian  nation  for  a  com- 
paratively short  period.  These  men  have  pressed  their  way  into  the  very 
birthplace  of  the  human  race,  and  into  the  very  heart  of  Mohammedan 
power,  and  in  spite  of  fanaticism,  relentless  hate,  and  unbridled  passion, 
they  have  remained  preaching  Jesus  the  Son  of  God,  the  only  Saviour  of 
the  world — a  doctrine  so  repugnant  to  the  Moslem,  and  so  opposed  to  the 
claims  of  their  prophet  and  the  teachings  of  their  Koran.  In  Persia  the 
Nestorians  and  Armenians  have  not  only  felt  the  life-giving  energy  of  the 
gospel,  but  the  Mussulmans  are  now  beginning  to  feel  and  acknowledge  its 
power,  and  the  desire  among  the  laborers  is  to  push  out  from  their  old 
limits,  and  to  establish  in  the  regions  beyond,  new  points  of  attack  upon 
the  faith  of  Islam.  Among  the  Nestorians  are  already  gathered  90  con- 
gregations, 60  schools,  and  more  than  60  native  preachers  are  at  work 
educating  the  people  in  the  truth,  journeying  from  place  to  place,  or  train- 
ing up  others  for  evangelistic  service. 

Passing  from  Persia  into  the  great  Turkish  Empire,  we  find  the  mis- 
sionary at  the  most  important  centres  busily  employed  in  diffusing  the 
truth,  and  maintaining  all  possible  agencies  for  its  extension.  What 
marked  changes  within  a  few  years.  Protestantism  is  officially  recognized 
as  one  of  the  religions  of  the  country ;  a  decree  has  gone  forth  permitting 
all  Mussulmans  to  circulate  or  read  the  Bible,  or  profess  faith  in  it,  with- 
out suffering  death  as  formerly.  Over  the  door  of  a  great  mosque  in  the 
city  of  Damascus,  are  inscribed  these  words,  "Thy  kingdom,  O  Christ,  is 
an  everlasting  kingdom,  and  thy  dominion  endureth  from  generation  to 
generation."  That  mosque,  once  a  Christian  church,  has  been  one  of  the 
holiest  sanctuaries  of  the  Mohammedan.  During  the  long  reign  of  its  in- 
tolerance and  oppression,  that  inscription  was  unknown,  but  it  has  now 
come  into  light,  telling  his  blasphemers  that  Christ's  kingdom  cannot  be 
destroyed,  and  that  it  will  triumph  and  be  established  in  all  the  earth. 
This  is  every  day  more  apparent  through  all  the  dominions  of  the  Sultan. 
The  very  freedom  which  he  has  guaranteed  is  opposed  to  the  principles  of 
the  Koran,  and  every  Moslem  convert  weakens  its  hold  upon  the  masses 
and  adds  an  additional  blow  to  the  destructive  forces  in  operation  for  its 
complete  overthrow.  The  schools  and  colleges,  the  printing  presses,  with 
other  agencies,  are  all  combining  their  strength  to  accomplish  this  very 
end.  Mohammedanism  has  no  aggressive  life.  The  Euphrates  is  drying 
up.  But  Christianity  lives  ;  in  a  short  time,  and  in  a  quiet  manner,  it  has 
made  itself  felt  all  over  the  Empire.  Within  its  limits,  including  Syria  and 
other  provinces,  there  are  to-day  75  ordained  ministers,  30  unmarried  ladies, 
50  native  pastors,  65  native  preachers.  100  churches,  5,000  communicants, 
25,000  Protestants,  300  places  where  the  gospel  is  preached,  2  colleges  with 
350  students,  12  theological  training  schools  with  130  students,  10  female 
seminaries  with  350  pupils,  280  common  schools,  300  native  teachers,  8,000 
pupils  receiving  education,  3  mission  presses,  2  religious  Aveekly  news- 
papers; 250  religious  and  educational  works  have  been  issued,  beside 
several  editions  of  the  Bible,  in  six  different  languages.  The  issues  of  the 
press  are  25,000,000  pages  annually.  The  addition  to  the  churches  the 
past  year  were  564,  and  the  addition  to  Protestant  ranks  from  unevangel- 
ized  sources,  were  1.500. 


6  A   Survey  of  Missionary  Operations. 

Passing  southward  into  the  great  Continent  of  Africa,  and  we  find  some 
of  the  noblest  triumphs  of  the  Gospel,  as  well  as  some  marked  changes. 
Along  the  portions  of  its  northern  shore  is  here  and  there  a  laborer.  But 
when  we  come  to  Egypt,  we  find  not  only  its  Mohammedan  ruler  protect- 
ing the  missionary,  but  granting  him  certain  favors.  The  United  Presby- 
terian Church  of  this  country  have  not  only  occupied  several  important 
points,  but  other  agencies,  arc  employed  by  Christians  from  other  lands  to 
elevate  an<l  educate  the  people.  The  late  war  in  Abyssinia  will  be  over- 
ruled for  the  spread  of  the  Gospel  in  this  interesting  country.  The  Imam 
of  Muscat  has  granted  permission  to  the  missionary  to  land  upon  the  coast 
and  carry  the  Gospel   into  the  interior.     South  of  this  are  the  English  pos- 

sions,  where  full  liberty  is  enjoyed  of  proclaiming  the  truth  as  it  is  in 
.lesus.  In  Southern  Africa  eleven  missionary  societies  are  at  work,  which 
have  more  than  105  missionaries  among  various  tribes  in  the  British  colony 
and  beyond  its  limits,  who  have  gathered  together  hundreds  of  missionary 
assistants  and  some  30,000  communicants.  We  might  show  how  the  de- 
graded Bushman,  the  despised  Hottentot,  and  the  warlike  Kaffir,  had  been 
civilized  and  transformed.  Take  one  case,  when  a  Hottentot,  whom  civil- 
ized nations  sneered  at  as  not  belonging  to  the  human  race,  was  askep1  by 
a  military  officer  what  the  missionaries  had  done  for  them,  replied :  "  When 
they  came  amongst  us  we  had  no  other  clothing  than  filthy  sheep  skins,  now 
we  are  dressed  in  English  manufactures.  We  had  no  written  language,  now 
we  can  read  the  Bible,  or  get  it  read  to  us.  We  were  without  religion,  now 
we  worship  God  with  our  families.  Then  we  had  no  idea  of  morals,  now 
we  are  faithful.  We  were  given  up  to  profligacy  and  drunkenness,  now 
industry  and  sobriety  prevail  amongst  us.  We  had  no  property,  now  the 
Hottentots  of  this  place  have  fifty  wagons  and  a  great  many  cattle.  We 
were  exposed  to  be  shot  like  wild  beasts,  but  the  missionaries  placed  them- 
selves between  us  and  the  muskets  of  our  enemies.', 

Many  missionary  societies  are  laboring  along  the  western  coast,  where 
are  found  over  one  hundred  organized  churches  and  some  15,000  converts. 
More  than  twenty  different  dialects  have  been  studied  out  and  reduced  to 
writing  iu  which  the  Bible  and  other  religious  books  have  been  translated 
and  printed.  Of  the  work  in  Sierra  Leone,  a  missionary  writes  that  30,000 
civilized  Africans  worship  God  every  Sabbath  in  Freetown,  in  twenty-three 
churches  built  of  stone,  handsome  edifices  which  cost  from  $2,000  to  $20,000 
each.  Along  this  coast  the  slave  trade  has  disappeared,  one  of  the  great 
hindrances  to  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  and  if  rum  could  be  but  banished 
from  the  coast — that  other  devastating  scourge — rapid  would  be  the  prog- 
ress of  Christianity. 

In  this  brief  survey  we  have  glanced  mainly  at  great  centres,  and  have 
made  no  reference  to  the  glorious  displays  of  truth  in  Polynesia,  Sandwich 
Islands,  Madagascar,  etc.  Thirty  years  ago  Williams  said,  "It  will  im- 
part joy  to  every  benevolent  mind  to  know  that  by  the  efforts  of  British 
Christians,  upwards  of  300,000  of  deplorably  ignorant  and  savage  barbar- 
ians, inhabiting  the  beautiful  islands  of  the  Pacific,  have  been  delivered 
from  a  dark,  debasing  and  sanguinary  idolatry,  and  are  now  enjoying  the 
civilizing  influence,  the  domestic  happiness  and  the  spiritual  blessings  which 
Christianity  imparts."  Says  another  laborer,  '•  I  sometimes  think  if  wre 
could  gather  together,  in  one  assembly,  all  the  heathen  that  have  died  in 
Christ  since  the  work  commenced,  the  effect  would  be  most  astounding." 
Many  islands  have  been  converted  by  means  of  a  native  agency,  and  the 
liberality  of  the  churches  has  been  marked  in  many  of  the  groups.  What 
God   has  done  for  the  Sandwich   Islands  has   oft   been    rehearsed.     For 


A   Survey  of  Missionary  Operations.  7 

years  a  Christian  people,  with  all  the  varied  institutions  of  a  Christian  na- 
tion, they  are  no  longer  dependent  on  foreign  aid  for  the  maintenance  of 
religions  ordinances,"  but  have  themselves  become  deeply  interested  in 
regions  beyond,  and  have  sustained,  for  years  past,  a  mission  to  the  Mar- 
quesas Islands.  The  whole  number  of  persons  admitted  to  the  Church  on 
profession  of  their  faith,  has  been  55,000.  Last  year  there  were  reported 
forty-nine  ordained  Hawaiian  ministers,  of  whom  thirty  are  native  pastors 
—nine  in  foreign  missions  ;  also  twelve  licensed  preachers,  of  whom  seven 
were  abroad ;  there  were  in  the  different  churches  a  membership  of  14,850 
who  contributed  to  benevolent  objects  $31,070,  or  $2.09  a  member. 

A.  short  time  ago  the  Christian  world  was  electrified  with  the  news  that 
the  days  of  persecution  in  Madagascar  were  ended,  and  that  Christianity 
was  to  be  tolerated.  Since  ttiat,  every  change  has  been  for  the  mainten- 
ance of  the  truth  and  for  its  further  extension,  until  now  the  religion  of 
the  Cross  is  the  one  recognized  religion  throughout  the  Kingdom. 

When  the  missionaries  returned,  they  found  a  much  larger  number  of 
professing  Christians  than  they  lefr.  From  that  time  the  cause  has  ad- 
vanced, and  now  there  are,  in  connection  with  the  London  Missionary  So- 
ciety, 19  missionaries,  25  native  pastors,  1,986  native  preachers,  20,051 
communicants,  231,759  adherents,  359  schools,  15,837  scholars. 

Beside  these  displays  <>f  Divine  power  among  pagan  nations,  the  efforts  for 
the  conversion  of  Israel  have  not  been  in  vain,  as  some  10,000  in  different 
lands  have  been  added  to  the  Church  of  Christ  since  evangelistic  work 
among  them  first  commenced. 

At  the  beginning  of  this  century  but  little  in  amount  was  contributed  to 
this  cause ;  and  in  1820  the  sum  had  grown  to  about  $800,000  ;  in  1871 
the  income  of  the  different  Missionary  Societies,  as  collected  by  Be  v.  W. 
Butler,  D.D.,  and  found  in  the  valuable  statistics  in  his  work,  "  The  Land 
of  the  Veda,"  is  placed  at  $5,232,716,  of  which  the  American  societies  con- 
tributed $1,633,891. 

Said  a  missionary  in  India,  in  the  year  1796,  "I  would  give  a  million 
pounds  sterling,  if  I  had  it,  to  see  a  Bengali  Bible."  At  that  time  the 
Bible  was  an  unknown  book  in  the  language  of  the  East.  The  Danish 
missionaries  had  translated  the  new  Testament  for  the  people  of  Malabar, 
but  that  was  limited  to  them,  beyond  that  the  Gospel  was  a  sealed 
book.  Then  there  was  no  Bible  Society  in  Great  Britain  or  in  our  own 
country.  The  organizations  of  the  two  nations  have  issued  more  than 
a  hundred  miTlions  of  the  Scriptures,  in  more  than  120  languages  in  the 
great  field  of  Christian  missions.  The  Bible  in  1800  was  only  acces- 
sible to  200  millions,  now  it  is  in  whole,  or  in  part,  in  tongues  spoken 
by  four  times  this  number.  It  is  in  all  the  prominent  dialects  for  the 
200,000,000  of  India,  it  is  printed  for  the  countless  hosts  of  China,  forjthe 
different  languages  of  Persia  and  the  Turkish  Empire  ;  for  the  millions  of 
the  Arabic  speaking  race,  f<>r  the  Burmese,  Assamese  and  Siamese,  and  for 
other  dwellers  in  Asia.  It  is  issued  in  many  dialects  for  the  different  tribes 
and  peoples  of  Africa  ;  in  over  twenty  languages  for  the  Polynesians,  to  say 
nothing  of  what  has  been  published  for  the  Indian  tribes  of  America.  In 
these  70  years  of  missionary  toil,  more  copies  of  the  Scriptures  have  been 
circulated,  in  more  languages  than  existed  from  the  days  of  Moses  to  the 
16th  century,  and  if  we  take  all  the  issues  of  the  Word  of  God  since  the 
organization  of  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society  in  1804,  it  may  be 
safely  affirmed  that  more  copies  of  the  Bible  have  been  circulated  than  in 
all  the  previous  centuries  of  the  world.  If  to  this  agency  is  added  the 
preparation  and  diffusion  of  a  religious  literature  called  into  being  by  mis- 


8  A   Survey  of  Missionary  Operations. 

sionary  labor,  and  printed  in  so  many  forms  and  tongues,  we  have  an  ad- 
ditional exidence  of  what  is  being  done  for  the  evangelization  of  our  earth. 

What  missions  have  accomplished  in  various  other  departments,  and  all 
telling  upon  the  enlightenment  and  elevation  of  the  race,  none  can  fully  de- 
scribe. "  History,"  says  one,  "shows  us  that  there  is  not  a  nation  upon  the 
face  of  the  earth  bearing  the  Christian  name  that  may  not  be  regarded  as 
the  fruit  of  Christian  missions."  Since  this  modern  enterprise  was  inau- 
gurated, its  influence  upon  the  world  has  been  vast.  It  has  been  the  great 
civilize r.  It  has  extended  commerce,  added  much  to  the  intellectual  stores 
of  nations,  enlarged  the  field  for  research,  both  in  physical  and  moral 
science.  Sir  II.  Uawlinson,  at  a  public  meeting  in  London,  said,  "It  was 
not,  perhaps,  generally  known  how  much  the  science  of  geography  was  in- 
debted to  the  missionaries'  exertions,  but  if  they  examined  history,  either  of 
Asia  or  Africa,  they  would  find  from  the  remotest  ages  to  the  present  day, 
all  great  discoveries  had  been  made  by  missionaries. 

While  these,  then,  are  some  of  the  direct  and  indirect  benefits  of  the  mis- 
sionary undertaking,  the  reflex  spiritual  benefits  to  all  who  have  engaged 
in  it  have  been  great.  It  has  promoted  personal  piety,  counteracted  world- 
liness,  shown  the  worth  and  importance  of  the  Gospel,  awakened  attention 
and  directed  effort  to  home  destitutions,  raised  the  standard  of  Christian 
benevolence,  and  incited  men  to  heroic  daring  and  self.denying  deeds.  If 
this  be  so,  how  important  that  Christians  should  rise  from  this  cursory  sur- 
vey with  new  zeal,  faith  and  courage,  come  under  the  operations  of  a  cause 
that  can  produce  such  glowing  results,  and  be  hereafter  active  coadjutors 
in  this  glorious  wTork.  The  practicability  of  the  scheme  has  been  demon- 
strated, and  to-day  there  are  tens  of  thousands  under  missionary  influence 
or  training  who  shall  come  forward  as  the  friends  of  Christ  and  the  warm 
defenders  of  the  Gospel. 

On  one  occasion  Judson.  taking  a  globe  and  pointing  to  continents,  cities 
and  islands,  the  centre  of  Christian  influence  and  civilization,  joyfully  ex- 
claimed. "  See !  how  the  Gospel  light  encircles  the  world."  How  much 
more  truly  at  this  day  can  we  say, — "  the  Gospel  is  encircling  the  world." 
Its  power  is  seen,  and  felt.  Nearly  every  land  has  experienced  if.  It  has 
reached  the  lowest,  the  most  degraded  of  the  race,  and  given  them  new 
views  of  manhood  and  of  their  destiny.  Its  transforming  energy  is  not 
simply  seen  in  the  individual,  but  in  communities  and  tribes  who  have  been 
raised  up  from  dire  servitude,  and  made  a  people  of  order,  law  and  purity. 
What  it  has  done  it  will  do.  This  is  enough.  Much  land  yet  remains  to 
be  possessed.  To  its  conquest  must  be  the  rallying  cry  of  the  Church,  and 
into  regions  beyond  must  we  seek  to  go  until  this  earth  shall  be  vocal  with 
the  Redeemer's  praise. 


30, 

A  GLANCE  AT  THE  WORK  OF  THE  BOARD 

OF 

FOREIGN     MISSIONS. 


As  pastors  frequently  write  for  some  comprehensive  outline  of  facts  in  regard 
to  the  Foreign  Mission  work  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  which  shall  aid 
them  in  the  preparation  of  missionary  sermons,  the  following  sketch  has 
been  prepared  with  that  view.  ,  f.  F.  E. 

Mission  House,  23  Centre  St.,  December  23,  1873. 


I.— ITS    WELL-CHOSEN    FIELDS. 


God  seems  to  have  favored  the  Presbyterian  Board  in  the 
location  of  its  work.  If  the  first  fruits  of  labor  have  been 
numerically  less  than  those  gained  by  some  other  organizations, 
among  mild  and  impressible  races  like  the  Sandwich  Islanders 
or  the  Karens,  yet  its  positions,  taken  in  the  great  centres  and 
among  the  strongest  races  of  the  world,  are  more  important  to 
the  final  results  of  Christian  conquest. 

[i.]  In  India  our  Missions  are  planted  among  the  vigorous 
Sikhs  of  the  North,  and  at  the  confluence  of  the  Brahminical 
faith  with  that  of  Islam.  They  are  rooted  in  a  soil  enriched 
with  the  martyr-blood  of  our  own  brethren  and  sisters,  who 
sixteen  years  ago  gave  their  lives  for  the  faith. 

• 
[2.]  The  Syrian  Mission,  with  the  mighty  weapons  of  the 

Arabic  Bible  and  literature,  is  planted  at  the  very  gates  of  the 
Mohammedan  world,  and  in  one  of  the  finest  centres  for  reach- 
ing the  many  nations  of  the  Orient. 

[3.]  The  Persian  Mission  is  a  strategic  outpost,  looking 
toward  Central  Asia,  and  has  to  do  mainly  with  a  people  (the 
Nestorians)  who  already,  in  the  earlier  period  of  their  history, 
have  proved  themselves  to  be  preeminently  the  missionary 
church  of  the  East.  The  gospel  was  once  carried  by  them 
across  the  Asiatic  wastes,  even  to  Central  China.  Who  knows 
what  future  mission-work  God  may  have  in  store  for  them. 


As  the  Presbyterian  Board  is  the  only  one  in  this  country 
which  is  devoting  its  attention  to  that  people,  the  responsibility 
laid  upon  it  is  very  great. 

[4.]   In  Japan  this  Board  was  one  of  the  first  among  our 
Protestant  denominations  to  appreciate  the  great  work  there, 
demanded,  and,  in  the  splendid  Dictionary  of  Dr.  Hepburn,  it 
has  laid  a  foundation  for  all  evangelistic  and  civilizing  efforts 
in  the  present  and  the  future. 

[5.]  The  Board  has  not  failed  to  realize  the  paramount 
importance  of  CHINA,  and  to  select  such  positions  as  promise 
best  for  a  work  which  shall  not  be  relinquished  till  the  great 
empire  is  won  to  Christ.  In  the  central  region  (central  with 
respect  to  the  coast),  Shanghai,  Ningpo,  Hangchow  and  Suchow, 
form  a  symmetrical  quadrilateral  of  great  strength  and  influence. 
A  missionary  of  a  British  Board,  who  recently  called  at  the 
Mission  House,  declared  this  to  be  the  best  organized  mission 
of  any  board  in  China.  At  Canton,  which  is  the  gate  or  outlet 
of  migration  to  our  Pacific  coast,  the  work  is  strongly  planted 
and  well  manned.  Tungchow  and  Chefoo,  on  the  salubrious 
promontory  of  the  Shantung  Province,  are  also  well  chosen, 
and  are  already  rich  in  encouraging  results.  Three  men  are 
established  at  the  imperial  capital,  and  they  have  made  a 
prosperous  beginning. 

[6.]  The  Gaboon  and  Corisco  Missions  have  always  been 
valued,  not  merely  as  a  just  recompense  to  the  African  Coast 
tribes,  which  have  so  long  been  desolated  by  the  American 
Slave  Trade  ;  but,  perhaps,  mainly  as  points  of  access  to  the 
interior  of  a  great  dark  continent. 

[7.]  Si  am  is  among  the  Asiatic  nations,  which  are  now  wel- 
coming and  imitating  our  Western  civilization,  and  presents  an 
important  and  hopeful  field.  Its  commercial  position — mid- 
way between  the  British  Empires  of  India  and  Australia — ■ 
must  give  it  great  influence  in  the  future. 

[8.]  The  Brazilian  Mission  is,  with  the  exception  of  one 
established  by  the  Southern  Presbyterian  Church,  about  the 
only  organized  agency  now  employed  for  building  up  Prot- 
estant churches  in  that  great  empire.  It  has  been  eminently 
successful,  considering  the  brief  period  of  its  existence,  and  the 
way  seems  open  for  indefinite  expansion  and  success. 


[9.]  Of  the  importance  of  Mexico,  lying  so  near  to  us,  and 
now,  especially  since  the  separation  of  Church  and  State,  so 
ripe  for  evangelistic  effort,  there  can  be  no  doubt  in  any  far- 
seeing  and  comprehensive  mind.  The  great  issue  between 
Protestantism  and  Papacy  in  North  America,  and  even  in  our 
own  Republic,  cannot  be  finally  settled  without  taking  Mexico 
into  the  account. 

[10.]  The.  newly-assumed  Mission  in  Chili  is,  so  far  as  we 
are  informed,  the  only  one  on  the  whole  western  coast  of  South 
America.  It  came  to  us  full-grown,  with  four  men  having  the 
Spanish  language  and  of  our  own  Presbyterian  faith  and  order, 
and  having  schools  and  congregations  already  gathered.  More 
than  all,  the  Mission  is  buttressed  and  strengthened  by  a 
prosperous  English  church,  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Dr.  David 
Trumbull,  the  pioneer  missionary  of  that  field. 

[ii.]  Of  the  American  Indian  Missions  we  scarcely  need 
to  speak.  But  those  who  recently  sawr,  at  the  Synod  of  Min- 
nesota, seventeen  Indian  ministers  and  elders,  representatives 
of  about  800  church-members,  besides  hundreds  of  youth  in 
schools,  could  but  feel  that  this  was  a  noble  department  of 
Mission-work. 

II. OUR    APPLIANCES. 

The  Presbyterian  Board  has  from  the  first  endeavored  to 
lay  its  foundations  deep.  While  the  preaching  of  the  Word  has 
been  considered  first  and  foremost,  the  work  of  translating, 
of  publishing,  and  of  education,  has  been  vigorously  prosecuted 
from  the  beginning;  and  sometimes  even  at  the  expense  of 
more  immediate  fruits.  The  printing  establishment  at  Shang- 
hai, with  its  enormous  issues  in  beautiful  Chinese  type,  is 
acknowledged  to  stand  among  the  very  highest  of  all  the  evan- 
gelical agencies  employed  in  China.  It  was  by  the  early  enter- 
prise of  the  Presbyterian  Board  that  the  art  of  printing  in  China 
was  revolutionized,  by  substituting  for  the  many  thousand  Chi- 
nese characters  the  simpler  combination  type,  which  reduced 
the  whole  number  to  about  300  elementary  forms.  In  connec- 
tion with  the  press  there  is  a  type-foundry,  which  has  supplied 
not  only  our  own  Board,  but  many  other  missionary  organi- 
zations. 

The  Syrian  Mission  was  established  by  the  American  Board 


on  the  same  broad  and  permanent  foundations.  The  great 
objective  point  was  the  Arabic  language,  as  the  vehicle  of  the 
Word  of  God  to  the  millions  who,  in  various  lands,  hold  the 
faith  of  the  Koran.  In  connection  with  the  agency  of  the  press 
is  the  work  of  education  in  all  grades,  and  the  preparation  of  a 
Christian  literature,  sound,  thorough,  and  comprehensive,  in 
the  vernacular  of  all  nations  and  tribes  reached  by  the  Board. 
Side  by  side  with  spiritual  agencies  of  all  kinds,  the  element 
of  humane  sympathy  is  everywhere  introduced.  After  the 
example  of  our  Saviour,  the  healing  of  bodily  ailments,  and  the 
exercise  of  pity  for  the  orphan  and  the  widow,  is  made  a  part 
of  missionary  work.  Special  effort  to  relieve  the  degrada- 
tion and  suffering  of  heathen  women  has  grown  into  a  separate 
agency  of  great  vigor  and  success. 

III. THE    LABORERS. 

As  to  the  force  employed  in  the  Foreign  field,  the  churches 
are  scarcely  aware  of  the  array  which  represents  them  at  the 
front.  There  are  315  American  missionaries,  male  and  female, 
and  499  native  preachers,  teachers,  and  helpers ;  making  an  en- 
tire force  of  814.  To  give  to  these  not  only  a  moral,  but  a  pecun- 
iary support,  is  a  most  sacred  obligation.  There  are  imperfect 
characters,  as  in  every  other  class,  but  probably  no  band  of  men 
and  women  stand  higher  in  intellectual  power,  and  in  devotion 
of  spirit  than  our  missionaries.  Some  of  the  very  best  talent  of 
the  Church  has  been  consecrated  to  this  work,  and  its  disinter- 
estedness has  again  and  again  been  tested  by  the  refusal  of  high 
salaries  offered  for  the  work  of  teaching  in  Government  schools. 
These  missionary  laborers  represent  all  sections  of  the  Church, 
East  and  West.  The  homes  which  they  have  left  are  in  our 
churches;  their  fathers  and  brethren,  and  in  many  cases,  their 
children,  dwell  among  us.  They  are  a  part  of  us.  The  work 
to  which  they  are  sent  is  not  theirs  alone,  but  ours  also.  They 
are  but  the  videttes  of  the  common  army.  It  is  our  duty  and 
privilege  to  share  their  responsibility  and  their  sacrifices. 

IV. THE  ECONOMY  OF  THE  BOARD. 

It  has  frequently  been  shown  that  the  Presbyterian  Board  of 
Foreign  Missions  has  few,  if  any,  rivals  in  this  country  or  Great 
Britain   in   the   low  per  cent,  of  its  administration.     It  is  true 


5 

that  men  claiming  high  character  for  intelligence  are  ignorant 
of  the  facts  in  this  matter  ;  but  no  other  ignorance  is  so  inex- 
cusable as  this,  since  the  Board  has  for  years  published  an  exact 
statement  of  its  incomes  and  outgoes  in  four  different  forms : 
first,  in  its  reports;  second,  in  the  Assembly's  minutes;  third, 
in  the  Foreign  Missionary;  and  fourth,  in  the  Record.  This, 
however,  has  not  prevented  even  prominent  men  from  circulat- 
ing the  insane  slander  that  most  of  the  money  contributed  is 
absorbed  and  used  up  on  machinery.  The  cost  of  administration 
(this  does  not  include  the  literature  given  to  the  churches)  has 
forthe  last  ten  years  averaged  less  than  four  per  cent.  On  the 
fields,  also,  the  Board  endeavors  to  work  with  the  utmost  econ- 
omy. Some  of  its  missionaries  are  still  on  the  same  salary  that 
they  received  before  the  war  of  the  rebellion  ;  and,  as  a  rule, 
whatever  any  missionary  may  receive  for  incidental  services, 
as  medical  prescription,  occasional  service  as  interpreter,  or 
teaching  in  Government  schools,  is  rendered  into  the  treasury 
of  the  mission.  Some  of  our  older  missionaries  in  China  have 
thus  given  to  the  Board  very  large  amounts.  It  should  be  re- 
membered, also,  in  estimating  missionaries'  salaries,  and  in  com- 
paring those  of  the  Foreign  with  those  of  the  Home  fields,  that 
the  former  are  generally  located  in  large  and  expensive  cities. 
The  work  of  the  rural  districts  is  done  by  native  helpers.  A 
fair  comparison,  therefore,  should  place  the  salaries  of  Yoko- 
hama, Shanghai,  Rio  Janeiro,  or  the  City  of  Mexico,  over 
against  Home  Mission  salaries  paid  in  Chicago,  Pittsburg,  or 
St.  Louis.  With  rare  exceptions,  the  foreign  missionary  never 
receives  an  annual  box  of  clothing,  or  a  donation,  or  even  a 
marriage  fee.  Separated  as  he  is  from  the  helps  and  amenities  of 
home  society,  his  salary  is  his  all.  Under  the  head  of  economy, 
it  may  be  proper  to  state,  that  the  Board  is  always  careful  to 
utilize  the  help  of  outside  agencies.  The  hospital  at  Canton, 
under  the  care  of  Dr.  Kerr,  which  receives  annually  about 
1,000  patients  under  its  roof,  and  administers  to  20,000  more 
outside  its  walls,  is  almost  wholly  supported  by  foreign  resi- 
dents in  the  city.  The  medical  practice  of  Dr.  Hepburn  in 
Japan  costs  the  Board  nothing,  since  residents,  seeing  the  bene- 
ficence of  his  work,  supply  him  entirely  with  medicines.  These 
helps,  however,  do  not  relieve  the  Board  from  the  support  of 
the  physician,  and  other  collateral  expenses.  Assistance  is  also 
given,  in  some  instances,  to  the  Mission  Schools.  The  Mahara- 
jah Duleep  Singh,  now  residing  in  England,  contributes  $1,200 


toward  the  support  of  the  schools  at  Futtehgurh,  The  College 
in  Beirut  has  been  built  and  is  supported  by  funds  independent 
of  the  Board,  and  the  Beirut  Female  Semiuary  is  also  largely 
self-supporting.  The  female  teachers  at  Sidon  have  received 
their  salaries  from  England,  and  the  chapel  at  the  same  station 
was  wholly  built  by  an  Englishman  visiting  the  country. 
Throughout  Syria  the  work  has,  in  many  instances,  been  aided 
by  the  Turkish  Aid  Society,  and  from  other  sources.  Many 
of  the  Mission  presses  of  the  Board  receive  payment  from  the 
American  Bible  Society  for  all  the  issues  of  the  Scriptures 
printed  in  various  languages.  Frequently,  also,  when  these 
presses  are  without  mission  work,  job  work  of  proper  kinds  is 
taken  at  a  suitable  compensation.  In  this  way  the  presses  at 
Shanghai  are  not  only  self-supporting,  but  are  a  source  of  in- 
come to  the  treasury  of  the  Board.  It  will  be  of  interest  to 
business  men  to  know  that  the  work  of  Missions  is  conducted  in 
such  a  way,  as  not  only  to  save  needless  expense,  but  also  to  draw 
to  its  support  every  suitable  resource  which  the  providence  of 
God  may  provide.  Another  point  now  aimed  at  more  and 
more  by  the  Board,  is  the  development  of  the  principle  of  self- 
help  among  all  the  people  who  receive  its  aid.  Its  aim  is  to 
develop  its  work  on  snch  a  basis  of  economy  and  self-reliance,  as 
will  render  its  perpetuation  and  enlargement  possible  to  the 
native  Christians  themselves  at  no  distant  day. 

V. THE    DEBT. 

In  spite  of  economy,  the  Board,  since  the  re-union,  has  fallen 
gradually  into  debt.  Different  causes  have  led  to  this.  I.  Sev- 
eral missions  were  transferred  from  the  American  Board  at  the 
time  of  the  re-union,-  and  most  of  them  in  such  a  condition 
as  to  require  great  outlays  for  their  resuscitation  and  enlarge- 
ment. 2.  The  exchange  on  gold  was  last  year  unusually  heavy, 
requiring  an  increased  outlay  of  several  thousand  dollars. 
3.  An  increased  interest  in  Missions  and  recent  promising  open- 
ings, especially  in  Japan,  had  led  an  unusual  number  of  men  to 
devote  themselves  to  the  Mission  work.  4.  The  monthly  con- 
cert collection,  which  for  years  had  been  a  reliance  of  the  Board, 
has  been  in  many  churches  largely  diverted  to  other  objects. 
5.  Since  the  withdrawal  of  Congregational  support  from  the 
American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union,  the  Presbyterian 
Church  was  left  to  the  alternative  of  contributing  the  main 


support  of  Mission  work  in  papal  countries  through  an  out- 
side society,  or  of  assuming  that  work  under  its  own  Mission 
Board,  according  to  repeated  direction  of  the  General  Assem- 
bly. The  latter  course'was  chosen  as  being  the  more  economi- 
cal and  efficient.  The  Board  now  carries  it  on  without  any  addi- 
tional expense  of  machinery  whatever.  It  has  proved,  however, 
that  the  churches  have  made  no  increased  appropriations  for 
this  work,  and  hence  a  heavier  debt. 


VI. THE  ASSEMBLY'S   EFFORT  AT  LIQUIDATION. 

All  who  witnessed  that  great  expression  of  interest  for 
the  relief  of  the  Foreign  Board  at  Baltimore,  were  impressed 
with  the  belief  that  God's  Spirit  was  present  with  His  prompt- 
ing and  guidance.  The  subscription  of  $75,000  on  the  spot 
contributed  a  quickening  influence  to  the  churches  in  all  parts 
of  the  land.  Nearly  $120,000  has  been  raised,  and  but  for 
the  financial  revulsion,  the  entire  debt  would  probably  ere  this 
have  been  removed.  It  is  hoped  that  the  effort  will  still  be 
completed  before  April  1st.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind,  how- 
ever, that  the  conditions  which  lead  to  continued  indebtedness, 
are  still  upon  the  Board,  viz.,  the  deficiency  of  funds  as  com- 
pared with  the  existing  work.  To  say  nothing  of  growth  or 
advancement,  the  contributions  from  all  sources  continually 
run  behind,  and  unless  an  enlarged  liberality  shall  soon  appear, 
the  work  of  the  Foreign  Board  must  be  retrenched.  It 
must  not  merely  stand  still,  but  go  back.  The  Presbyterian 
army  must  retreat  in  the  face  of  the  enemy.  This,  for  many 
months,  has  been  the  embarrassing  problem  at  the  Mission 
rooms. 

VII. WHY  THE  BOARD  NEEDS  SO  MUCH  MONEY. 

Not  withstanding  the  sound  and  economical  principles  on 
which  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions  is  carried  on,  it  must,  from 
its  vastness  and  variety,  involve  a  large  outlay,  greater  than 
can  be  realized  from  one  annual,  and  often  precarious  collection. 
Its  lars:e  force  of  over  eioht  hundred  men  and  women  em- 
ployed,  has  already  been  alluded  to.  The  variety  of  its  work 
is  not  well  understood.  To  say  that  it  embraces  in  one  the 
work  of  all  the  subdivided  church  boards  of  the  Home  field 
(four  of  which  are  exclusively  for  Home  Missions),  does  not 
express   the    whole    truth.      Beside    missionary   support   and 


8 

church  erection ;  ministerial  education  and  publication;  com 
mon  school  education,  as  with  the  Freedmen  and  the  relief  of 
missionaries'  families;  it  embraces  the  building  of  houses,  col- 
leges and  seminaries,  the  establishment  find  support  of  orphan- 
ages, hospitals,  sanataria,  press  buildings,  etc.  It  includes  the 
whole  range  of  benevolence,  Christian  and  eleemosynary,  and 
often  aids  the  native  tribes  in  attaining  greater  personal  com- 
fort by  the  simpler  arts  and  industries  of  life.  On  the  same 
principle  of  division  which  obtains  in  the  Home  work  of  the 
Church,  the  Foreign  Board  might  justly  ask  for  a  division  of 
its  great  work.  For  instance,  one  Board  for  the  American 
Indians;  another  for  the  Chinese  in  California.  These  are 
two  great  departments  of  missionary  effort  in  the  Home  field. 
The  work  to  be  done  in  the  papal  countries  of  this  hemi- 
sphere, to  say  nothing  of  that  called  for  in  papal  Europe,  is  one 
which  might  well  engage  the  attention  and  zeal  of  still  another 
Board.  Indeed,  it  has  been  hitherto  in  the  hands  of  a  distinct 
organization,  and  obtained  from  hundreds  of  our  churches  a 
separate  annual  collection.  Again,  the  structural  work  ot 
Foreign  Missions  might  occupy  a  separate  Board,  and  might 
furnish  it  with  a  much  more  varied  and  complex  work  than 
that  devolving  on  the  present  Board  of  Church  Erection,  since, 
as  has  been  shown,  all  kinds  of  structures  on  the  Foreign  field 
are  to  be  provided.  Still  another  great  department  —  the 
extent  of  whose  work  is  little  understood — would  be  that  of 
publication,  which  embraces  translation  and  printing  in  nearly 
a  score  of  different  languages.  Allusion  has  already  been 
made  to  the  eight  printing  presses  in  Shanghai,  three  in  Syria, 
two  in  India,  etc.  The  issues  of  the  Board  in  foreign  fields 
the  last  year  were  over  36,000,000  of  pages.  In  Shanghai 
there  were  reported  last  year,  240,000  volumes  printed,  be- 
sides tracts.  The  Bible  and  other  religious  literature  now 
given  to  the  natives  of  the  world  by  the  Presbyterian  Church, 
has  reached  enormous  proportions,  and  might  well  engage  the 
attention  of  a  separate  committee.  How  many  boards  and 
societies  and  private  publishing  houses  are  employed  in  sup- 
plying a  Christian  literature  to  our  own  laud?  Were  the 
various  departments  of  education,  as  carried  on  in  heathen 
lands,  also  placed  in  the  hands  of  a  separate  Board,  supported 
by  an  additional  collection,  the  field  would  certainly  be  wide 
enough  for  its  energy  and  all  the  resources  which  it  cculd  col- 
lect.    It  would  not  only  embrace  theological  training,  which  at 


home  demands  separate  institutions,  and  colleges  and  female 
seminaries,  which  here  receive  princely  endowments,  but  also 
normal  primary  schools,  here  supported  largely  by  State  appro- 
priations, but  these  dependent  mostly  upon  missionary  funds. 
The  medical  and  sanitary  work  of  Foreign  Missions  has  become 
so  great,  that  in  Great  Britain,  a  medical  missionary  society, 
as  a  separate  institution,  with  separate  funds,  has  been  estab- 
lished. Such  a  society,  if  established  here,  might  find  a  worthy 
sphere  in  training  up  physicians,  and  in  assuming  the  whole  work 
of  hospitals  and  dispensaries  and  medical  practice  among  the 
heathen.  At  present,  all  these  departments  above  named  are 
in  the  hands  of  a  single  Board,  and  that,  in  the  popular  mind,  is 
generally  classed  with  the  mere  subdivisions  of  our  Home 
work,  and  is  made  dependent  upon  one  annual  collection,  as 
against  seven  that  are  taken  for  Home  Boards  alone,  beside 
all  contributions  for  numerous  voluntary  societies.  Is  it  strange 
that  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  is  in  debt  ?  Is  it  possible 
that  an  enterprise  so  comprehensive  and  so  vast  can  advance, 
or  even  maintain  its  position,  by  the  help  of  one  annual  collec- 
tion ?  It  is  not  asked  that  separate  Boards  shall  be  appointed 
for  the  Indians  and  Chinamen ;  for  the  anti-papal  work ;  for 
the  heathen  and  Moslem  nations ;  for  the  press  and  for  struc- 
tural work ;  for  medical  education  and  eleemosynary  efforts : 
but  it  is  asked  that  the  more  intelligent  ones  who  lead  the 
public  sentiment  of  the  Church — ministers  and  laymen — will 
endeavor  to  hold  up  the  fact  that  these  great  departments 
really  exist,  and  that  provision  should  be  made  for  them 
accordingly.  It  is  asked  that  liberal-minded  men,  in  their 
living  contributions,  and  in  their  testamentary  provisions,  will 
remember  that  the  one  expression,  Foreign  Missions,  is  really 
in  danger  of  obscuring  a  score  of  distinct  enterprises,  each  one 
of  which  is  vast  in  its  proportions. 

VIII. HOW  SHALL    THIS  WORK    BE    ADEQUATELY    SUSTAINED. 

I.  By  thorough  presentation  from  the  pulpit.  There  is  an 
important  class  of  men — often  the  most  wealthy  class — who  are 
ignorant  and  indifferent  in  regard  to  Missions,  and  who  can  be 
reached  only  by  the  pastors.  They  are  never  in  synods  or  mis- 
sionary conventions,  where  these  topics  are  discussed.  They 
neither  attend  the  monthly  concert  nor  read  the  literature  of 
the  Board,  but  they  are  in  their  pews  on  Sabbath    morning. 


10 

The  convincing  power  of  an  earnest  and  able  sermon  cannot  be 
eluded.  With  faithfulness  on  the  part  of  the  pastor,  they  must 
come  to  know  something-  of  the  progress  of  Christ's  kingdom. 
2.  By  instructing  the  young  in  the  Sabbath-school  in  relation 
to  this  work,  and  by  forming  in  them  the  habit  of  contributing 
to  its  support.  There  are  hundreds  of  Sabbath-schools  in  which 
foreign  missions  have  no  place.  Contributions  are  taken  for  a 
variety  of  objects  nearer  home,  but  the  sympathies  of  the  pupils 
are  not  turned  toward  those  who  are  perishing  for  lack  of  vision. 
But,  how  shall  the  young,  thus  neglected,  ever  take  our  place  in 
the  extension  of  Christ's  kingdom  ?  Shall  all  that  has  been  ac- 
complished in  the  last  half  century  toward  the  world's  conver- 
sion be  lost  through  this  neglect?  Is  it  less  important  to  enlist 
the  Sabbath-schools  than  the  churches?  3.  By  reviving  and 
strengthening  the  monthly  concert.  It  has  been  a  great  edu- 
cator. None  can  estimate  its  value  to  the  churches  in  the  last 
half  century.  How  has  it  enlarged  the  horizon,  instructed  the 
intellect,  and  expanded  the  sympathies  of  the  people  !  The 
concert  of  prayer  should  always  clinch  its  own  impressions  and 
confirm  the  sincerity  of  its  petitions  by  a  collection.  Those  are 
the  very  best  gifts,  which  come  forth  from  an  atmosphere  of 
prayer.  4.  By  encouraging  the  effort  of  our  Christian  ladies 
for  their  own  sex.  Hundreds  of  letters  have  been  written  by 
the  officers  of  the  Women's  Societies  to  the  pastors,  without 
ever  receiving  an  answer.  Generally,  pastors  are  written  to 
for  the  reason  that  the  ladies  of  a  given  church  are  unknown  to 
the  writers,  and  it  is  felt  that,  in  multitudes  of  cases,  efficient 
auxiliaries  might  be  formed  if  pastoral  co-operation  could 
be  secured.  Let  it  be  remembered  that  these  appeals  from  the 
Women's  Societies  are  a  work  of  love.  These  devoted  women 
labor  on  without  salaries,  with  great  patience,  and  sometimes 
under  toilsome  burdens  ;  and  we  appeal  to  every  pastor  and 
evqry  Christian,  are  they  not  worthy  of  a  response?  What- 
ever the  past  has  been,  shall  not  their  patience  now  be  re- 
warded by  a  general  and  hearty  co-operation  ?  All  our  efforts 
should  be  encouraged  by  the  recent  spiritual  fruits. 

IX. GENERAL    PROSPERITY    OF    THE    MISSIONS. 

At  no  time  within  several  years  past  have  cheering  reports 
of  God's  presence  and  of  hopeful  conversions  been  so  numer- 
ous as  during  the   last  few  months.     From  India,  from  the  Ga- 


II 

boon  ;  from  Canton,  Tungchow,  and  Chefoo ;  from  Japan  and 
Syria ;  from  Brazil,  the  Indians,  and  the  Chinese  in  California, 
very  favorable  reports  have  been  given  ;  while,  in  Mexico,  the 
growth  of  our  work  has  been  most  remarkable  of  all.  Never 
before  has  our  Board  had  greater  encouragement  to  thrust  in 
the  sickle  all  over  the  broad  field  of  the  world.  In  Japan,  even, 
the  opposition  which  had  been  aroused  against  the  truth,  seems 
to  have  given  the  people  a  stronger  desire  to  receive  it.  Every 
where  the  harvest  is  ripe  for  the  sickle. 


OUR  SABBATH-SCHOOLS   AND  THE   FUTURE 

OF   MISSIONS. 


The  Presbyterian  Church  has  undertaken  a  great  work  in 
the  world,  at  home  and  abroad.  It  is  planned  for  the  future  as 
well  as  the  present.  It  is  to  expand  from  generation  to  gener- 
ation. It  supposes  the  training  of  children  to  the  continuance 
of  that  which  their  fathers  have  begun.  Such  training  is 
especially  necessary  for  that  remoter  wTork,  which  concerns 
the  nations  lying  in  darkness  ;  and  for  the  reason  that  it  is  less 
mingled  with  considerations  of  self-interest,  and  is  more  purely 
a  work  of  inbred  and  spiritual  faith.  A  complaint  was  made 
at  the  last  anniversary  of  the  American  Board  of  Missions,  that 
the  young  are  not  cherishing  the  missionary  spirit  of  their 
fathers.  This  has  been  found  to  be  true  also  in  the  Presby- 
terian Church.  The  men  who  are  most  deeply  interested  in 
Foreign  Missions,  are  those  w^ho  had  their  spiritual  training 
forty  or  fifty  years  ago.  The  largest  givers  to  that  cause  are 
found  among  men  of  this  class,  while  the  younger  men  ot 
wealth,  many  of  whom  have  become  wealthy  since  the  war, 
"  believe  in  our  own  country,"  and  in  whatever  concerns  its 
spiritual  and  material  progress.  The  younger  generation, 
through  a  laudable  zeal  in  Christian  associations,  and  in  the 
Sunday-school  work,  and  many  other  local  or  patriotic  objects, 
have  pursued  a  course  of  training,  which,  though  eminently 
useful,  has  developed  less  interest  in  the  cause  of  Foreign 
Missions.  In  most  cases,  children  and  youth,  in  our  Sabbath- 
schools,  though  cultivating  a  benevolent  spirit,  are  devoting 
their  gifts  mostly,  or  altogether,  to  objects  which  lie  nearer  at 
hand,  and  are  possibly  more  importunate,  but  which  have  little 
reference  to  their  training  for  that  specific  work,  which  their 
own  denomination  has  undertaken.  Picturesque  objects  pro- 
posed by  outside  voluntary  societies  may  be  useful,  but  they 
do  not  inculcate  in  the  young  a  love  lor  their  own  church,  nor 
a  feeling  of  responsible  duty  to  perpetuate  that  which  their 
fathers  have  begun.  It  is  not  strange  if  our  children,  upon 
leaving  the  Sabbath-school  and  the  parental  roof,  are  as  much 
Methodists  or  Episcopalians  as  Presbyterians.     And  it  is  diffi- 


cult  to  see  how  the  various  lines  of  work  now  pursued  by  the 
Church,  are  to  be  perpetuated  without  the  cultivation  of  a 
proper  esprit  du  corps  in  the  young.  This  denominational 
interest  is  not  at  all  at  variance  with  the  present  tendencies  to 
Christian  union,  for  it  was  the  very  glory  of  the  late  Evangel- 
ical Alliance,  that  it  fully  recognized  the  diversity  of  separate 
organizations,  each  advancing  vigorously  according  to  its  own 
methods,  and  impressing  those  methods  upon  children,  and 
children's  children.  Whatever  is  worth  undertaking,  is 
worth  extending  and  perpetuating.  If  the  General  Assembly 
has  been  wise  in  devising  certain  schemes  of  effort,  they  are 
worth  the  co-operation  of  the  young  as  well  as  of  the  old.  It 
is  a  strange  inconsistency  that  many  churches  which  pride 
themselves  upon  their  loyalty  to  the  enterprises  of  the  Assem- 
bly, and  feel  a  satisfaction  in  having  each  column  of  benevolence 
represented,  should  seem  to  think  it  of  no  consequence  whether 
the  rising  generation  should  grow  up  in  that  loyalty  or  not,  and 
should  allow  the  whole  interest  of  the  Sabbath-school  to  be 
devoted  to  objects  as  remote  as  possible  from  all  the  aims  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church.  There  are  many  schools  which  are 
trained  up,  or  which,  at  least,  grow  up  in  the  idea  that  the 
Sunday-school  is  an  institution  entirely  distinct  from  the 
Church  ;  that  it  stands  upon  its  own  foundations,  and  is  to 
perpetuate  itself  only  ;  and  that,  therefore,  the  Sunday-school 
Union,  or  some  other  agency  for  the  extension  of  the  Sunday- 
school  work,  is  about  the  only  proper  object  for  their  contri- 
bution. That  children  should  be  interested  in  those  of  their 
own  age,  and  chiefly  enlisted  for  their  good,  is  natural  and 
proper,  but  that  interest  should  not  be  cramped  and  confined 
to  a  single  institution,  or  to  a  single  country.  It  should,  as  far 
as  possible,  be  drawn  into  all  those  channels  in  which  the  duties 
of  maturer  years  may  lie.  Objection  is  not  made  here'to  a 
proper  share  of  attention,  to  various  objects  outside  the  Church, 
but  a  plea  is  made  for  a  paramount  interest,  and  training  in  the 
work  of  the  Church. 

The  Sabbath-schools  should  be  instructed  in  their  future 
work.  The  Home  and  Foreign  fields  should  have  each  its 
proportionate  attention.  The  establishment  of  Christian  insti- 
tutions all  over  this  Republic,  and  the  spread  of  the  gospel 
among  all  nations,  should  be  held  up  as  great  aims,  which  the 
majority  of  pupils  are  old  enough  to  comprehend.  The 
geographical   positions   of   different   fields,    the    manners   and 


14 

customs  of  nations,  the  methods  of  missionary  work,  and  the 
scriptural  grounds  of  obligation  to  carry  on  that  work,  should 
be  made  familiar.  No  topics  can  be  better  calculated  to  expand 
the  mind,  and  elevate  the  heart,  than  these.  As  to  contribu- 
tions, a  monopoly  should  not  be  given  to  Foreign  Missions,  nor 
to  Home  Missions,  but  such  proportions  as  the  work  laid  out 
by  the  Assembly  demands. 

The  following  are  among  the  results  which  might  be  expected 
to  follow  such  a  training : 

i.  A  surprising  aggregate  of  contributions  would  be  realized. 
The  power  of  the  littles  gathered  in  the  thousands  of  our 
Sunday-schools,  has  never  been  lully  tested.  The  nearest 
approach  to  it  Avas  realized,  when,  in  i863,  the  Mission  Board 
of  the  late  Old  School  Church  was  relieved  of  a  debt  of  over 
$40,000  by  the  Sunday-schools  alone. 

2.  The  full  co-operation  of  our  present  schools  in  the  work 
of  the  Church,  would  raise  all  our  Boards  from  a  condition  of 
embarrassment  to  one  of  full  support  and  efficiency. 

3.  A  large  and  increasing  number  of  young  men  and  women, 
would  be  found  consecrating  themselves  personally  to  the 
missionary  work.  The  best  laborers  in  this  great  vineyard 
are  not  those  who  have  bethought  them  to  enter  it  at  the 
eleventh  hour,  though  our  Saviour  assigns  to  them  also  their 
reward,  but  those  who  have  cherished  the  mission  work  from 
childhood,  as  the  great  object  of  their  lives.  It  cannot  be  too 
deeply,  or  too  constantly  remembered,  that  the  two  great 
training-schools  for  the  messengers  who  are  to  give  the  gospel 
to  the  nations,  are  the  family  and  the  Sunday-school. 

4.  The  rising  generation  would  be  trained  to  a  hearty  sym- 
pathy with  that  work  in  its  true  proportions,  and  instead  of 
complaints  that  the  missionary  spirit  is  declining,  we  should 
gain  assurances  that  the  extension  of  the  gospel  will  proceed 
with  deepening  interest  and  increasing  resources,  and  far 
greater  success  when  our  own  efforts  shall  have  ceased.  "  Estab- 
UsJi  Thou  the  work  of  our  hands ;  yea,  the  work  of  our  hands } 
establish  Thou  it." 

These  suggestions  arc  respectfully  submitted  to  pastors  and 
Sabbath-school  superintendents. 


SPECIAL  MISSIONARY  OBJECTS 
FOR  SABBATH-SCHOOLS. 


The  following  list  of  objects  is  submitted  to  pastors  and 
superintendents,  in  view  of  the  fact  that  many  Sabbath-schools 
are  forming  their  programmes  of  benevolence  at  the  beginning 
of  the  new  year.  In  the  severe  pressure  which  the  Board 
has  suffered  and  is  still  suffering  during  the  present  year  for 
want  of  funds,  it  has  been  compelled  to  look  with  increased 
interest  to  the  Sabbath-schools.  While  church  collections 
advance  but  slowly  from  year  to  year,  a  great  increase  may  be 
hoped  for  among  the  young. 

Our  work  earnestly  appeals,  therefore,  to  the  Sabbath-schools 
at  this  particular  crisis. 

There  has,  in  many  cases,  been  great  difficulty  in  arranging 
the  correspondence  of  Sabbath-schools  with  mission  fields, 
where  the  support  of  a  particular  scholar  in  a  mission  school 
was  undertaken,  but  this  difficulty  is  now  largely  overcome  by 
classification.  It  is  desirable  that,  instead  of  a  particular  pupil, 
a  scholarship  may  be  taken,  in  which  case  a  more  interesting 
letter  may  be  written  by  the  missionary  concerning  the  whole 
school,  and  at  the  same  time  an  almost  insurmountable  com- 
plexity of  detail  be  avoided. 

Where,  however,  a  school  prefers  to  have  a  particular  scholar, 
effort  will  be  made  to  accommodate  their  wishes.  In  regard  to 
the  frequency  of  letters  from  the  field,  it  is  desirable  that  the 
Sabbath-schools  will  remember  that  there  are  several  thousand 
children  and  youth  under  instruction  on  the  Foreign  field,  and 
over  four  thousand  Sabbath-schools  at  home,  and  that  too  frequent 
a  correspondence  would  well  nigh  monopolize  the  time  which 
the  missionary  should  give  to  his  local  work.  Objects  may  be 
chosen  among  the  following:  i.  Pupils  in  schools  in  China, 
India,  Siam,  Mexico,  and  at  Tripoli  in  Syria,  may  be  supported 
at  a  cost  of  from  forty  to  fifty  dollars  in  currency ;  in  Persia, 
thirty-five  dollars  ;  Africa,  thirty  dollars.  2.  Native  teachers 
and  helpers  in  Syria,  Persia,  China,  India,  Mexico  and  Brazil, 
will  cost  variously  from  fifty  to  two  hundred  dollars.  Schools 
may  select   by    correspondence    with    the    Secretaries   of  the 


i6 

Board.  Native  preachers  may  be  supported  on  these  fields  at 
from  one  hundred  to  three  hundred  dollars.  3.  In  the  erection  of 
school  buildings,  chapels,  orphanages,  etc.,  the  Sabbath-schools 
may  contribute  any  amount ,  greater  or  less,  and  will  receive 
descriptive  reports  from  the  field.  This  is  an  important  and 
attractive  object ;  it  is  laying  permanent  foundations.  4.  Effort 
is  being  made  at  some  of  the  Missions  to  furnish  hymn-books 
and  suitable  literature  for  the  young.  The  power  of  Sabbath- 
school  singing  and  congregational  singing,  which  has  accom- 
plished so  much  here  at  home,  is  to  be  tested  in  Mexico,  at 
the  Gaboon,  in  India,  and  elsewhere.  Aid  in  any  of  these 
directions  will  so  far  help  to  meet  the  heavy  expenses  of  the 
Board.  5.  One  of  the  most  attractive  forms  of  work  for 
Sabbath-schools  is  the  support  of  missionaries.  If  the  schools 
of  a  given  city  or  presbytery  were  to  unite  in  furnishing  the 
support  of  a  missionary  who  should  correspond  with  them, 
furnishing  interesting  intelligence  from  time  to  time,  it  would 
constitute  one  of  the  best  means  of  instruction  in  mission  work. 

This  appeal,  by  being  bound  up  with  other  matter  of  general 
interest,  will  fall  into  the  hands  of  many  whose  schools  have 
already  taken  up  as  large  an  amount  of  Foreign  missionary 
work  as  will  be  found  practicable  at  present. 

All  such  will  be  regarded  as  having  already  responded. 
Others  not  fully  engaged  are  earnestly  requested  to  join  in  the 
good  cause. 


21.  ■ 

PROGRESS  AT  HOME  AND  ABROAD. 


These  words  tell  of  influence,  life,  power.  They  embrace  action  and  feel- 
ing, devotion  and  effort.  They  point  to  a  fact  in  the  history  of  Christ's  king- 
dom which  is  to  advance,  and  they  speak  of  forces  at  work  through  which  this 
advance  is  positive  and  decided.  As  far  as  Christ's  cause  is  concerned  it 
covers  the  two  fields — home,  that  is  evangelized,  and  abroad,  that  more  thor- 
oughly needs  it.  Beginning  in  the  one,  it  reaches  to  the  other,  and  the  great 
aim  of  Christian  life  and  endeavor  must  be  to  make  others,  who  are  deprived 
of  the  truth,  savingly  acquainted  with  it.  In  this  respect  there  has  been  a 
great  gain.  More  are  now  interested  in  the  moral  and  spiritual  welfare  of  the 
destitute  than  ever  before,  and  more  is  doing  for  the  good  of  the  race  than  has 
ever  been  known  in  the  history  of  the  Church.  Responsibility  means  some- 
thing with  this  class.  To  them  duty  has  a  new  voice,  and  the  spiritual  condi- 
tion of  others  stand  out  in  such  vital  relations  that  obligation  is  seen  and  felt. 
Once  it  was  not  so.  Here  and  there  was  one  mourning  over  the  supineness 
of  the  Church,  and  sighing  for  opportunities  to  reach  the  perishing  in  pagan 
lands,  but  there  was  no  vivid  consciousness  of  individual  duty  to  go  and  preach 
the  Gospel  to  them,  or  to  maintain  those  who  should  desire  to  carry  it.  As 
far  as  real  work  was  concerned  for  the  spiritual  elevation  of  the  heathen  among 
Protestant  churches,  the  great  commission  was  in  no  way  recognized.  It 
might  as  well  have  been  spoken  to  beings  of  another  sphere.  When  the 
movement  did  begin  near  the  close  of  the  last  century  for  the  evangelization 
of  those  sitting  in  moral  gloom,  it  was  not  only  decried  and  caricatured,  but 
its  most  violent  opposers  were  men  professing  godliness.  With  them  the  force 
of  the  last  command  had  either  been  spent,  or  the  time  to  carry  it  into  execu- 
tion had  not  come.  In  their  opinion  Carey's  enthusiasm  bordered  on  mad- 
ness, and  his  project  of  organizing  work  for  the  heathen  was  considered  Uto- 
pian, so  that  he  could  not  at  first  enlist  his  own  denomination  in  the  scheme, 
or  call  forth  a  response  from  other  denominations.  It  is  sad  to  contemplate 
such  a  state  of  things.  The  indifference  now  seen  among  not  a  few  Christians 
was  then  general.  The  Church  was  asleep  while  myriads  were  dying.  Then 
no  Peter  the  Hermit  arose  to  call  the  Church  to  arms  for  the  recovery  of  the 
lost,  and  no  vast  armed  hosts  sprang  up  and  went  forth  for  their  rescue,  crying, 
with  intense  burning  zeal,  "  The  Lord  wills  it,  the  Lord  wills  it  !" 

This  reference  to  the  past  is  of  moment,  and  a  retrospect  has  its  value  in 
the  consideration  of  this  subject,  and  it  is  well  at  the  beginning  of  a  new  year 
to  look  at  what  has  been,  so  as  to  judge  something  of  the  present  in  its  bear- 
ings upon  the  future  ;  and  the  first  thing  to  be  noted  is  the  advanced  position 
which  the  Church  has  taken  in  regard  to  missions.  When  Carey  stood  forth 
as  the  advocate  of  missions  to  all  lands,  no  Church  in  its  Church  capacity,  if 


2  Progress  at  Home  and  Abroad. 

we  except  the  feeble  organization  of  the  Moravians,  had  ever  taken  decided 
action  in  favor  of  the  evangelization  of  our  world.  If  held  as  a  truth  it  was 
theoretical,  and  never  put  forth  into  practice.  The  discouragements  that 
Carey  encountered  would  have  quenched  the  ardor  of  a  less  heroic  spirit. 
The  aged  and  influential  members  of  his  own  denomination  dissuaded  him 
from  the  scheme  as  simply  visionary,  and  when  the  Society  was  formed  in 
1792,  the  leading  men  "  kept  aloof  from  an  enterprise  struck  out  in  the  heat 
of  enthusiasm." 

"On  the  12th  of  April,  1799,  twenty-five  individuals,  clerical  and  lay,  not 
one  distinguished  by  rank  or  station,  met  together  to  institute  the  Church 
Missionary  Society,  by  laying  down  the  principles  of  action  and  by  mutually 
pledging  each  other  to  pray  for  and  to  care  for  the  heathen.  They  submitted 
their  plan  to  their  ecclesiastical  superiors.  For  fifteen  months  they  waited  in 
inaction  before  they  could  obtain  any  notice  or  answer  in  respect  of  their 
proposal." 

A  like  feeling  pervaded  the  mass  of  Christians  in  Great  Britain.  The  same 
was  true  of  our  own  land.  When  the  early  band  of  missionaries,  with  others. 
met  together  in  Williams  College  and  formed  a  Society  in  1808,  their  records 
and  constitution  were  kept  in  cipher,  and  "  the  reasons  for  secrecy  were  the 
possibility  of  failure  in  the  enterprise,  public  opinion  then  being  opposed  to  us  ; 
in  accordance  with  which  good  men  often  said  the  enterprise  of  a  foreign 
mission  of  which  we  talked  was  the  result  of  overheated  zeal,  and  would  be 
soon  forgotten  ;  there  was  enough  to  do  at  home,"  etc.  There  was  but  little 
sympathy  with  the  movement  anywhere.  At  first  resolutions  in  favor  of  the 
work  were  voted  in  some  Church  courts,  and  in  others  they  were  allowed  to 
pass  as  harmless  expressions  of  mere  sentimentality.  But  now  every  evan- 
gelical body  recognizes  not  only  the  importance,  but  the  obligation  to  enter 
heartily  into  this  enterprise.  In  Great  Britain  the  greatest  and  the  noblest  of 
the  land  are  seen  at  missionary  meetings,  and  in  all  parts  of  Christendom  the 
cause  is  espoused  and  recognized  as  a  duty  to  be  discharged,  and  the  idea  is 
common  that  "  missions  are  the  chief  end  of  the  Church." 

(2)  The  work  is  no  longer  an  experiment.  The  Gospel  had  accomplished 
wonders  in  certain  lands  and  among  certain  races,  but  could  it  touch  and 
transform  the?  besotted  South  Sea  Islanders,  the  degraded  African,  the  lordl) 
Brahmin,  and  the  proud  Confucianist,  and  make  each  an  earnest,  humble 
Christian,  loving  righteousness  and  hating  evil  ?  Could  it  transform  and  ele- 
vate as  well  as  humble?  Could  it  work  in  each  the  same  sentiments  of  loyalty 
and  devotion,  of  earnest  life  and  pure  endeavor?  Was  it  suited  to  all  classes 
and  all  climes?  Some  had  held  that  it  had  lost  its  power  ;  that  it  was  inert. 
antiquated,  and  incapable  of  producing  a  high  type  of  civilization  and  culture. 
All  this  has  been  tried,  and  the  issue  is  not  doubtful.  The  experiment  has 
been  made  and  success  assured.  It  has  lost  none  of  its  power.  Amidst  the 
greatest  obstacles  it  has  triumphed.  Whilst  new  friends  have  been  won,  new 
enemies  have  been  made  who  realize  their  losses  in  the  conversion  of  relatives 


Progress  at  Home  and  Abroad.  3 

and  neighbors  to  the  truth.  They  are  alarmed  because  Christianity  is  making 
inroads  upon  their  faith.  In  this  respect  missions  should  be  looked  upon  with 
the  greatest  favor  by  the  Church.  What  has  been  effected  shows  the  power 
of  the  Word  :  that  it  is  still  mighty  for  the  pulling  down  of  strongholds  ;  that 
it  can  reach  man  as  man,  wherever  found,  change  his  moral  nature,  and  set 
him  upon  a  new  career  of  spiritual  being  ;  and  the  more  this  is  done  the  stronger 
the  evidence  of  its  divine  energy  and  of  its  heavenly  origin.  As  these  cases 
are  known,  the  greater  will  be  our  confidence  in  the  sufficiency  of  the  Gospel 
to  renovate  and  to  save,  and  the  more  firmly,  in  turn,  should  we  grasp  a  cause 
that  bears  the  approval  of  Heaven  and  the  marks  of  its  celestial  origin. 

(3)  Those  who  are  won  to  the  faith  show  that  Christianity  is  stronger  than 
heathenism.  Language  is  incapable  of  unfolding  the  true  character  and  the 
consolidated  power  of  many  systems  of  paganism.  Buddhism  and  Brahmin- 
ism  are  masterpieces  of  Satanic  skill.  The  hold  that  these  and  other  forms 
of  error  have  upon  the  hearts  of  their  votaries  is  terrific.  But  that  hold,  under 
the  melting  power  of  the  cross,  has  been  relaxed,  and  not  a  few,  swayed  by 
the  might  of  divine  grace  and  by  the  light  of  truth,  have  abandoned  joyfully, 
and  yet  at  a  great  sacrifice,  the  faith  of  their  fathers,  and  have  become  humble 
and  devoted  followers  of  the  Lord  Jesus.  Many  have  had  to  sever  the  strong- 
est ties,  break  away  from  home  and  endeared  associations,  surrender  property, 
give  up  the  dearest  friends,  encounter  the  bitterest  persecutions,  and  endure 
poverty  and  privations  for  their  new  faith  ;  and  yet  all  were  borne  that  they 
might  testify  of  the  transforming  nature  of  the  Gospel  and  show  their  sincerity 
in  its  wondrous  power.  It  snatched  Africaner,  the  terror  of  the  people,  from 
tire  lowest  degradation  and  crimes,  and  made  him  a  meek  and  loving  follower 
of  Christ  ;  it  revolutionized  the  whole  life  of  the  Kurdish  robber  Guergis,  and 
made  him  a  helper  of  many  ;  it  has  rescued  many  a  Polynesian  from  savagery 
and  the  greatest  evils,  and  brought  them  into  loving  sympathy  with  purity  and 
righteousness.  Its  trophies  are  everywhere  found,  and  they  have  been  from 
the  worst  of  earth  and  the  vilest  of  the  vile.  What  Paul  said  of  some  in  his 
day  who  had  been  rescued  from  human  wretchedness  and  impurity,  hundreds 
of  missionaries  in  various  portions  of  our  earth  have  and  can  say  :  "  Put  ye  are 
washed,  ye  are  sanctified,  ye  are  justified  in  the  name  of  the  Lord  Jesus  and 
by  the  Spirit  of  our  God."  Now,  then,  if  sin  and  Satan  could  not  keep  these 
under  their  sway,  then  there  is  a  stronger  one  than  they  ;  if  heathenism,  how- 
ever named,  could  not  hold  them  within  its  grasp,  then  Christianity,  that 
rescued  them  single  handed  when  they  were  surrounded  by  all  the  forces  con- 
trolled by  their  religion,  is  mightier  than  it.  What  the  Gospel  has  done,  it  can 
do,  so  that  the  Church  need  not  fear  any  issue  made  between  truth  and  error, 
between  its  claims  and  those  of  false  systems. 

(4)  In  no  portion  of  the  earth  does  heathenism,  or  any  false  system,  present 
an  unbroken  front.  Everywhere  an  inroad  has  been  made  upon  them  —slight 
in  some  places,  but  severe  in  others,  yet  showing  their  inability  to  cope  with 
the  simple  forces  of  Christianity.     Once  it  was   not   so.     The   Mohammedan 


4  Progress  at  Home  and  Abroad. 

power  was  untouched  ;  Brahminism  was  unaffected  ;  Buddhism  and  kindred 
errors  found  in  China  and  Japan  were  undisturbed  ;  Fetish  worship  reigned 
supreme,  and  savage  life  was  let  alone  in  all  lands.  So  little  was  done,  except 
at  a  few  points  by  the  Moravians,  leaving  out  of  view  the  Romish  propagand- 
ism  that  left  the  heathen  changed  only  in  name — we  may  say  that  all 
false  systems  of  belief  at  the  commencement  of  the  present  century  were 
unmoved  by  any  aggressive  attack  upon  them  by  the  Protestant  Church.  The 
visits  of  Christians  to  Africa  had  been  chielly  made  by  the  slaver,  the  adven- 
turer, the  trader,  or  the  traveler.  Those  who  left  their  impress  on  India  were 
the  soldier  or  the  merchant.  Those  who  were  found  in  China  were  there  for 
material  wealth.  The  sailor  or  the  discoverer  was  passing  from  island  to  island 
in  Polynesia,  but  none  of  them  were  heralds  of  the  cross  sent  out  by  an 
awakened  Church  to  bear  with  them  the  message  of  eternal  life.  What  has 
been  done  for  the  evagelization  of  our  earth  may  be  compressed  within  this 
century,  and  the  greater  part  within  the  last  fifty  years.  Now  missionaries  are 
found  in  every  part  of  the  globe,  and,  with  rare  exceptions,  in  every  country. 
They  are  at  work  where  civilization,  apart  from  Christianity,  is  the  highest  and 
where  it  is  the  lowest.  They  are  where  faith  has  been  formulated  for  ages  in 
written  forms,  and  where  faith  is  only  traditional.  They  are  where  the  people 
are  ruled  over  and  held  in  awe  by  a  subtle  priesthood,  and  where  there  are  no 
idols  and  no  worship.  They  are  in  all  climes,  amidst  burning  heats  and  eter- 
nal snows,  breathing  deadly  atmospheres,  enduring  cheerfully  trials  and  priva- 
tions in  the  one  grand  hope  that  they  may  bring  the  people  to  a  saving  knowl- 
edge of  the  Gospel.  This,  not  wealth  ;  this,  not  honor  ;  this,  not  fame,  is  their 
aim.  That  Gospel,  says  one,  "  lias  enlightened  the  ignorant  South  Sea 
Islanders  and  demolished  their  unorganized  religions.  It  has  converted  a 
cannibal  race  into  a  Cod-fearing,  man-loving  people.  It  has  combated  and 
overcome  the  powerful  and  subtle  systems  of  Hindooism  and  Buddhism.  It 
has  been  more  than  equal  to  the  ingenuity,  the  subtlety,  the  fanaticism  of  an 
inveterate  priesthood  and  the  veneration  and  shrewdness  of  a  thinking  peo- 
ple ;  and  it  has  won  from  its  opponents  a  commendation  more  complete  and 
valuable  than  the  praise  of  its  friends."  Lt  is,  then,  true  that  if  darkness  con- 
tinues to  brood  over  the  earth,  and  if  heathenism  and  error  continue  to  hold 
men  in  thraldom,  the  fault  is  not  with  the  Gospel,  not  with  the  Redeemer  of 
men,  but  with  His  people,  to  whom  lie  has  communicated  llis  truth  and  on 
whom  He  has  laid  the  duty  of  its  dissemination  to  all  lands. 

(5)  The  change  in  public  sentiment  at  home  and  abroad  in  regard  to  this 
work  is  great.  lt  is  no  doubt  true  that  there  are  still  many  enemies,  open  or 
secret  ;  but  it  is  also  true  that  the  cause  has  won  largely  among  the  people  in 
Christian  lands.  No  bishop  would  now  say  what  Bishop  1  loisley  said  in  1  793  : 
"  He  did  not  think  that  any  foreign  State  had  a  right  to  interfere  with  the  gov- 
ernment of  another  country,  without  an  express  commission  from  Heaven  : 
the  apostles  had  such  commission,  but  he  doubted  whether  it  had  not  ceased." 
The  names  given  by  many  to  the  Baptist  missionaries — "  madmen,"  "  maniacs," 


Progress  at  Home  and  Abroad.  5 

etc. — are  not  now  heard.    Such  an  opinion  as  was  given  by  Dr.  Buchanan  about 
mission  labor,  would   not  now  be  declared  as  "  diabolical  advice."      No  such 
reviews  as  were  written   by  Sydney  Smith  would  be   tolerated   in  a  clergyman. 
No  such  sentiments  as  were  expressed  when  the  Baptist  and  London  Mission- 
ary Societies  were  established  or  the  American   Board  was  inaugurated  would 
be  uttered,   and   no  such  declarations  by  men   high    in  the   Church  as  were 
heard  when  the  first  missionaries  of  those  Societies  were  ordained  could  now 
be    made.      How  the    English  Government  resisted   all   evangelistic  work   in 
India  until  overborne  in    1813   by  public  sentiment,  is  well  known,  and  yet 
that  Indian  government  published  a  Blue  Book  a  few  years  ago,  and  devoted 
many  pages  to  missionary  labor,  and  closed   its  statement  with   the  following 
words  :  "The  Government  of  India  can  not  but  acknowledge  the  great  obli- 
gations under  which   it  is   laid  by  the  benevolent  exertions  made  by  600  mis- 
sionaries, whose  blameless  example  and  self-denying  labors  are  infusing  new 
vigor  into  the  stereotyped  life  of  the  great  populations  placed  under  English 
rule,  and  are  preparing  them  to  be  in  every  way  better  men  and  better  citizens 
oi  the  great   Empire  in  which  they  dwell."      It  was  the  same  spirit  that  con- 
trolled the  British  power  in  India  that  led  the  East  India  Company  to  join  the 
Chinese  authorities  to  keep  out  missionaries  from  China  ;  but  now  that  land  is 
virtually  open,   and   protection   guaranteed  by  the   rulers   to  all  who  are   pro- 
claiming the  truth  as  it  is  in   Jesus  to  the   people.     We   might  refer  to  other 
changes,  but  these  are  sufficient  to  indicate  the  revolution  in  public  sentiment. 
When  we  come  to  actual  facts  as  to  work  done,  contributions  given,  labor- 
ers sent,  converts  made,  there  is  much  to  exhibit  an   increased  interest  in  the 
enterprise  and  a  greater  power  associated  with  it       It  may  be  well  to  look  at 
these.     The  first  contribution   by  the    Baptist  Church   in    1792  for   missions 
amounted  to  $65,  and  for  a  long  time  the   mission   met  with  a  scanty  support 
from   the   churches.      In    18 17 — the   close  of  the  first  quarter  of  a  century — 
contributions  were  acknowledged  from  only  95  Baptist   churches  and  45  aux- 
iliaries, reaching  altogether  about  180  churches.     Beginning  the  comparison 
with  the  present  century,  and  contrasting  their  work  then  and  now,  we  have  the 
following  : 

Missionaries.        Native  Agents.         Communicants.         Receipts. 

1800 6  1  $10,300 

1877 86  205  29,496  195,000 

The  London  Missionary  Society  was  organized  in  1  7^5,  with  considerable 
vigor  and  zeal.  At  first  the  interest  of  various  denominations  centred  in  it. 
The  first  work  of  this  Society  was  in  the  South  Sea  Islands,  to  which  they  sent 
29  missionaries  in  a  ship  which  they  had  purchased.  The  following  figures 
show  something  of  what  has  been  done  : 

Missionaries.         Native  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

'796 29  $5544o 

lS77 149  3.93°  94,089  623,700 


6  Progress  at  Home  ci7id  Abroad. 

The  next  important  British  Society  that  was  instituted  was  the  Church  Mis- 
sionary Society  in  1801.  Though  drawing  to  it  some  noble,  earnest,  and  de- 
voted men,  who  are  greatly  honored  by  the  Church  at  large,  it  had  for  years  a 
chequered  existence.  It  did  not  commission  a  single  English  missionary  till 
1813 — not  one  could  be  found  to  offer  himself  as  a  candidate  ;  the  Society 
was,  therefore,  dependent  on  the  Lutheran  Church  and  on  missionaries  from 
the  Continent.  Its  income  for  several  years  was  small.  It  had  reached  in 
18 13  only  $14,155.  The  progress  made  at  home  and  abroad  ib  obvious  from 
the  following  figures.     The  list  includes  Sierra  Leone  : 

Missionaries.         Native  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

1804 2  $2,700 

l8'/7 2IO  2,782  29,994  953465 

The  Wesleyan  Missionary  Society  had  not  a  formal  existence  till  1817. 
The  conference  of  181 4  urged  the  immediate  formation  of  such  an  institution, 
but  it  was  not  completed  till  three  years  afterward.  This  Church  had  its 
origin,  in  one  sense,  in  missions,  and  its  peculiar  character  has  been  that  of 
an  aggressive  body.  Wesley,  and  many  who  were  associated  with  him,  went  from 
place  to  place  proclaiming  the  Gospel.  A  difficulty  connected  with  the  evan- 
gelistic work  of  this  Society  is  to  separate  the  purely  missionary  from  that 
which  is  colonial.  We  can  not  find  the  statistics  for  181  7.  We  publish  the 
summary  of  its  whole  work  for  the  past  year  : 

Missionaries.        Native  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

1817 $86,000 

1877 853  5,870  141,286  73M7I 

The  next  denomination  to  fall  into  line  in  its  ecclesiastical  capacity  was  the 
Church  of  Scotland.  The  Glasgow  and  the  Scottish  Missionary  Societies  had 
been  organized  in  1796,  and  had  laborers  in  Africa,  India,  and  Jamaica,  but 
the  Church  of  Scotland  determined,  in  its  corporate  capacity,  to  begin  work 
in  India,  and  in  1826  collections  were  made  which  amounted  to  only  $1,500. 
In  1829  Rev.  A.  Duff,  its  first  missionary,  sailed  for  India.  In  1843  the  dis- 
ruption of  the  Church  took  place,  and  then  was  born  the  Free  Church  of  Scot- 
land. We  add  its  work  for  1877,  that  the  contrast  may  embrace  the  parties 
represented  in  1830  : 

Missionaries.         Native  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

183O 1  $5,000 

1877 53  37o  4.000  383.565 

The  United  Secession,  now  tin-  United  Presbyterian  Church  of  Scotland, 
that  had  been  co-operating  with  some  of  the  Societies  already  named,  planted 
a  mission  in  Jamaica  in  1835,  and  from  that  time  has  pushed  forward  the  work 
with  considerable  vigor.      Then  it  had  for 

Missionaries.         Native  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

1835 4  $6,500 

1877 46  324  8,077  241,000 


Progress  at  Home  and  Abroad.  7 

Passing  into  our  own  country,  and  without  referring  to  a  few  feeble  efforts 
for  the  evangelization  of  its  aborigines,  we  come  to  the  movement  that  led  to 
the  organization  of  the  American  Board  in  1810,  and  which  was  supported  for 
many  years  by  Presbyterians  as  well  as  by  Congregationalists.  It  is  now 
solely  in  the  hands  of  the  latter.  The  Presbyterian  and  the  Reformed 
Churches  acting  through  their  own  institutions.     The  Board  had,  in 

Missionaries.         Native  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

I8I3 2  $11,361 

1877 151  I.I72  13.435  441,391 

Besides  these  communicants,  over  14,000  were  enumerated  at  one  time  in  the 
Sandwich  Islands,  and  do  not  now  appear. 

The  Baptist  Missionary  Union  was  organized  in  1814.  This  was  hastened 
by  Messrs.  Judson  and  Rice  adopting  Baptist  views  on  their  way  to  India  as 
missionaries.     The  following  summary  is  for  the  two  periods  in  its  history  : 

Missionaries.         Native  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

181 5 2  $13476 

1877 138  956  63,445  238,777 

The  Missionary  Society  of  the  Methodist  Episcopal  Church  was  organized 
in  1819,  and  its  operations  were  wholly  confined  to  our  own  country  till  1831, 
when  it  sent  its  first  foreign  missionary  to  Africa  : 

Missionaries.         Native  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

1832 i  Small. 

1876 87  2,170  I7»754  300,000 

The  Board  of  Missions  of  the  Episcopal  Church  was  organized  in  182 1,  but 
ten  years  afterward  it  had  not  sent  a  missionary  to  the  heathen.  We  gather 
the  following  facts  from  its  history  : 

Missionaries.         Nat  hie  Agents.         Communicants.  Receipts. 

1833 2  $5,000 

.  1876 35  57  1,065  139,826 

As  has  been  said,  the  Presbyterian  Church  co-operated,  in  part,  with  the 
American  Board.  Many  felt  that,  as  a  body,  it  should  prosecute  its  own  for- 
eign missionary  work.  In  1831  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  was 
formed,  which  was  merged  into  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  established  in 
1837.     The  following  comparison  shows  the  progress  made  : 

Missionaries.        Native  Agents.         Comtnunicants.  Receipts. 

1833 4  $6,431 

1877 120  600  9,632  471,977 

We  might  refer  to  other  but  smaller  organizations,  but  the  facts  and  figures 
given  show  how  this  cause  has  taken  hold  of  the  Church  at  home,  and  how  it 
has  received  the  approval  of  God  in  all  lands.  It  is  impossible,  however,  from 
these  figures  to  sketch  all  that  has  been  done.  The  mere  list  of  communi- 
cants is  a  small  part  of  the  work  ;   a  much  greater  number  are  adherents  to 


8  Progress  at  Home  and  Abroad. 

Christianity  though  not  enrolled  as  members.  Thus  the  Church  Missionary 
Society  reports  less  than  30,000  communicants,  but  nearly  130,000  native 
Christian  adherents.  The  London  Missionary  Society  reports  94,089  church 
members,  and  389,023  native  adherents.  There  is  the  same  difference  with 
other  Societies.  Then  there  are  many  who  have  never  been  baptized,  and  who 
are  secretly  Christians.  Slowly,  yet  steadily,  is  the  work  advancing,  and  this 
is  a  source  of  joy  ;  and  then  it  is  in  advance  of  the  missionary  spirit  of  the 
home  churches,  and  beyond  the  present  giving  ability  of  those  who  contribute 
to  this  cause.  But  in  this  respect  there  has  been  a  great  gain.  The  Church 
has  greatly  enlarged  its  benefactions  for  missions.  When  the  Church  of  Scot- 
land in  1833  was  about  sending  its  third  missionary  to  the  heathen,  Dr.  Inglis 
wrote  to  Dr.  Duff  that  he  thought  he  could  now  reckon  on  $6,000  a  year. 
He  replied  :  "Do  not  fix  on  ^1,200  a  year  as  your  minimum.  Put  down 
^£10,000  as  your  minimum,  and  from  that  rise  up  indefinitely."  When  this 
was  laid  before  the  Home  Committee,  one  of  its  leading  members  wrote  on 
the  margin  of  the  letter  :  "  What !  is  the  man  mad  ?  Has  the  Indian  sun 
turned  his  head  ?"  That  same  missionary  still  lives,  and  has  seen  that  same 
Church,  in  its  two  Boards,  giving  the  past  year  nearly  #400,000.  The  propor- 
tionate resources  of  the  Church  at  large  are  not  yet  given  to  this  cause,  and 
the  progress  made  is  only  an  earnest  of  what  will  yet  be  seen.  May  this  soon 
come. 


22. 

Are  we  in  Danger  of  Practical 
Apostasy  from  Christ 


IN    THE 


MATTER  OF  FOREIGN  MISSIONS? 


/ 


BY    ARTHUR    T.    PIERSON. 


Sheldon  Dibble  was  wont  to  say  that  a  Christian  needs  to  be  converted 
to  a  personal  interest  in  Foreign  Missions,  just  as  an  unregenerate  man  needs 
to  be  converted  to  a  personal  interest  in  Christ,  and  His  salvation. 

The  process  of  such  conversion  to  practical  sympathy  with  Foreign  Mis- 
sions might  be  neither  so  long  nor  laborious  as  it  often  is,  were  some  grand 
facts  duly  weighed.  And  it  is  in  the  devout  hope  that  we  may  contribute  to 
the  awakening  of  a  deeper  conviction  and  the  enkindling  of  a  warmer  affec- 
tion in  this  direction,  that  we  ask  careful  attention  to  the  following  marked 
considerations. 

i.  The  modern  Foreign  Missionary  movement  represents  the  latest  and 
ripest  fruit  of  our  Church-life. 

True,  the  Foreign  Missionary  movement  is  not  properly  of  recent  origin. 
The  Church  in  the  Apostolic  era  was  more  thoroughly  missionary,  in  spirit 
and  activity,  than  at  any  time  since.  But  in  our  ordinary  estimates  of  the 
progress  of  the  Kingdom  of  Christ,  we  instinctively  give  to  the  Apostolic 
Church  a  special  and  separate  standing.  It  belongs  to  the  age  of  miracles. 
Following  close- upon  the  personal  ministry  of  our  blessed  Lord,  characterized 
by  the  actual  presence  and  supervision  of  His  chosen  apostles,  marked  by 
conspicuous  and  miraculous  interpositions  of  God's  Providence  and  Spirit, 
abounding  in  signs  and  wonders,  which  made  the  living  God  peculiarly  and 
vividly  near  to  His  people,  the  earliest  epoch  of  Christian  church  history 
seems  entitled  to  a  place  by  itself.  The  relapse  of  the  Church,  in  the  age  imme- 
diately succeeding,  was  so  rapid  and  its  decline  so  abrupt,  that  it  was  as  though 
its  supernatural  pillars  or  props  were  removed,  and  henceforth  the  progress  of 
the  Kingdom  of  Christ  lies  more  in  the  direction  of  natural  law  and  less  of  super- 
natural force.  The  Divine  plant  which  had  bloomed  into  a  gigantic  growth  and 
efflorescence  under  the  special  fostering  care  of  God,  appears  to  have  been 
left  to  shrink  and  wither,  that  its  development  might  begin  as  from  the  root 
again,  struggling  against  adverse  influences,  into  blade,  ear,  and  full-grown 
kernel.  Whatever  be  our  philosophy,  the  faet  is,  that  the  Church  went  rapidly 
down  into  the  dark  ages,  when  the  fires  on  her  altars  and  the  flames  in  her 
lamps  almost  went  out.     And  it  was  a  full  millennium  of  years,  from  the  time 


of  her  relapse,  before  her  recovery  toward  Apostolic  simplicity  and  purity 
began.  In  the  birth  of  John  de  WyclirTe  rose  the  morning  star  of  the  Refor- 
mation ;  the  stake  of  John  Huss  furnished  additional  radiance  to  the  glowing 
day-dawn  ;  the  evangelical  doctrine  of  John  Knox,  John  Calvin,  and  Savona- 
rola, still  more  intensely  lit  up  the  darkness  ;  and  finally,  under  Luther  and 
his  fellow  reformers,  the  new  day  burst  on  the  reformed  transformed  Church. 

And  yet  it  took  three  hundred  years  of  life  and  growth  in  the  awakened 
Church  for  modern  missions  to  assume  organic  form.  There  are  men  in  this 
generation  whose  lives  reach  back  to  the  day  when  it  was  thought  needless 
and  almost  presumptuous  to  send  missionaries  to  the  heathen. 

In  all  other  spheres  and  departments  of  activity,  where  we  see  any  signs  of 
advance  at  all,  we  expect  the  latest  product  to  be  the  mat ur est  and  best.  It  is 
so  in  invention  and  discovery.  Science  refuses  to  go  backward.  And  the  pre- 
sumption is,  that  this  latest  development  of  Church  energy  and  activity  repre- 
sents the  ripest  fruit  of  her  life.  As  in  the  grand  gallery  of  the  first  of  the 
Pyramids,  there  is,  at  the  distance  of  1,814  inches  from  the  beginning,  a  very 
decided  ascent  to  a  loftier  platform  ;  so  the  lapse  of  1,800  years  finds  the 
Church  lifted  to  a  much  more  exalted  plane.  She  begins  to  obey  her  Lord's 
last  command,  to  go  into  all  the  world  and  preach  the  Gospel  to  every  creat- 
ure. She  returns  toward  the  simplicity  of  her  first  days,  and  the  ardor  and 
fervor  of  her  first  love.  She  calls  to  the  Gospel  feast  those  who  a»-e  in  the 
remotest  and  obscurest  by-ways  and  hedges,  and  who,  above  all  others,  are  the 
most  destitute  spiritually,  the  poor,  and  maimed,  and  halt,  and  blind.  Surely, 
there  can  be  no  doubt  on  the  part  of  a  candid  and  spiritually-minded  disciple 
that  no  enterprise  of  the  Church  represents  so  mature  a  fruit  of  God's  tillage 
as  this  most  unselfish  mission  to  the  destitute. 

2.  This  brings  us  to  the  second  great  fact  and  factor  in  this  argument,  viz., 
that  the  enterprise  of  Foreign  Missions  is  pre-eminently  the  Church  seeking 
the  lost.  We  can  not  but  feel  that  in  our  estimate  of  the  claims  of  Foreign 
Missions  on  our  sympathy  and  help,  this  factor  of  comparative  destitution  can 
not  with  fairness  be  left  out.  If  we  were  commissioned,  in  days  of  famine,  to 
deal  bread  to  the  hungry,  we  should  feel  that,  in  the  order  of  claim  upon  our 
service,  not  the  nearest,  but  the  neediest  is  entitled  to  preference  and  preced- 
ence. If  our  next  neighbor  had  eaten  no  bread  for  one  day,  and  the  remoter 
families  none  for  two  days,  we  should  pass  by  the  nearer  to  feed  the  needier. 
Now,  much  of  the  jealousy  sometimes  apparent  between  the  advocates  of 
Home  and  of  Foreign  Missions,  respectively,  might  be  obviated  if  this  matter 
were  carefully  considered.  It  is  said,  "  the  mission  work  is  one — giving  the 
Gospel  to  the  destitute  " — and  so  it  is.  But  it  is  also  said,  "  that  therefore 
there  should  be  no  dividing  or  discriminating  line  between  home  and  foreign 
fields ;"  but  here  we  detect  a  fallacy  ;  for  there  is  a  marked  difference  in  de- 
grees of  destitution.  Even  in  our  remotest  and  most  destitute  frontier  settle- 
ments, where  there  may  be  neither  church  nor  minister  of  the  Gospel,  you  will 
find  both  Christians  and  Bibles.      In  most  cases  these  men   and   women   have 


heard  the  Gospel,  some  repeatedly ;  not  a  few  are  even  Gospel  hardened  ; 
and  it  may  be  doubted  whether  there  is  a  settlement  in  our  land  so  destitute 
that  an  awakened  soul  could  not  find  a  Bible  to  read,  or  a  believing  soul  to 
consult  for  help  and  guidance.  Is  it  not  patent  that  those  millions  who  have 
never  yet  seen  a  Bible,  or  a  missionary,  or  heard  of  Christ,  and  who,  if  aroused 
to  a  sense  of  the  vanity  of  idols,  know  no  way  out  of  darkness,  have  a  superior 
claim  on  the  ground  of  comparative  destitution?  Is  there  any  justification  for 
the  depreciation  of  our  foreign  missionary  work,  on  the  ground  of  the  impor- 
tance of  our  work  nearer  home  ?  We  appeal  especially  to  the  elders  of  the 
churches,  whether  that  is  not  an  exceedingly  unsound  argument  which  justifies 
neglect  of  the  heathen  world,  on  the  ground  of  needed  missionary  work  on  our 
frontiers.  Is  the  question  of  comparative  nearness  to  blind  us  to  the  claims  of 
comparative  need?  Far  be  it  from  any  of  us  to  cripple  one  arm  of  our 
Church  organism  to  strengthen  another.  We  count  ourselves  among  the 
warmest  advocates  of  Home  Missions.  But  we  earnestly  contend  that  no 
zeal  for  those  who  are  in  need  of  Gospel  privileges  in  our  own  land  should 
permit  indifferentism  toward  the  still  more  destitute  millions  who  are  not  even 
enjoying  the  reflected  light  of  the  Gospel.  If  Cheyenne  needs  the  Gospel,  what 
shall  we  say  of  China  ? 

3.  Another  mighty  argument  in  favor  of  Foreign  Missions  is  found  in  the 
consecrated  a?id  heroic  lives  linked  with  this  work.  The  most  devoted  and 
spiritual  of  all  the  men  and  women  of  this  century  have  either  been  found  in 
heathen  lands,  working  for  the  rescue  of  souls,  or  at  home,  praying  and  giving 
for  the  success  of  the  work.  Now  there  must  be  something  in  the  work  which 
develops  Christian  heroism.  We  feel  instinctively  that  it  is  no  accident  that 
in  such  an  enterprise  the  worldly-minded  and  the  half-hearted  disciple  is  not 
found.  There  must  be  some  link  between  these  two — exalted  Christian  char- 
acter and  foreign  mission  work.  The  most  conspicuous  examples  of  Apostolic 
consecration,  whether  here  or  abroad,  are  warmly  engaged  in  furnishing  to  the 
most  destitute  the  Gospel  of  Christ.  And  we  may  safely  challenge  the  Church 
to  show,  among  all  her  shining  examples  of  heroism,  any  who  are  cold  and  un- 
sympathetic toward  the  work  of  Christ  abroad.  We  involuntarily  gauge  piety 
by  such  tests.  If  any  kind  of  work  be  found  to  ripen  Christian  character  with 
marked  rapidity,  we  judge  that  work  to  approach  more  nearly  to  the  true  idea 
and  ideal  of  service.  And  when  we  notice  that  somehow  the  most  Christlike 
disciples  feel  most  yearning  toward  the  Christless  millions  who  are  farthest 
from  our  doors,  and,  wherever  they  are  themselves  called  to  labor,  strive  with 
most  eagerness  to  reclaim  those  that  are  most  emphatically  lost,  we  can  not 
but  conclude  that  there  is  some  deep  reason  for  such  coincidences.  If, 
then,  this  latest  enterprise  of  the  Church  is  also  the  most  unselfish,  dealing  the 
bread  of  life  to  the  most  destitute,  and  develops  the  highest  types  of  piety,  we 
may  naturally  expect  it,  by  the  blessing  of  God,  to  exhibit  special  marks  of 
Divine  approval.    And,  let  us  note,  that  of  all  Church  enterprises,  this  is  also — 

4.  The  most  effective  and  comparatively  successful.    Remember  that  modern 


missions  are  scarce  a  half  century  old.     Fifty  years  ago  the  first  banners  were 
but  just  floating  from  Christian  standards  before  the  strongholds  of  paganism. 
There  was  scarce  a  single  fortress  of  heathenism  taken  for  Christ,  and  the  ad- 
vance toward  the  great  centers  of  Mohammedan,  Papal,  and  pagan  supersti- 
tion was  scarce  projected.     And  where  to-day  can  you   find  any  enterprise  so 
young  with  results  so  abundant?     History  may  be  safely  challenged  to  unroll 
her  shining  scroll  and  point  to  any  record  so  brilliant.     The  men  and  women 
who,  from  the  whole   Christian   world,  have,  during  these  fifty  years,  gathered 
against  the  armies  of  the  pagan  world,  have  been  a  mere  handful,  like  Gideon's 
picked  three  hundred.     And  yet  all   Christendom   together  can,  witli  all   the 
ten  thousand  appliances  of  Gospel  ordinances  and  organizations,  show  no  such 
comparative  results  at  home.     Within  less  than  three-quarters  of  a  century  the 
Bible  has  been  furnished  to  every  considerable  nation  and  people  on  the  globe, 
in  the  native  tongue;  the  Word  of  God  can  be  obtained   to-day  in  about   two 
hundred  and  fifty  languages  and  dialects — all  the  result  of  modern   missions. 
It  is  a  miracle  of  Church  life — it  is  the  reversion  of  Babel,  the  repetition   of 
Pentecost,  the  union  of  all  tongues  in  one  celestial  dialect;  and  every  man 
may  now  read  the  Gospel  message  in  his  own  tongue  wherein  he  was  born. 
And,  although  missionaries  in  foreign  lands  have  had  to  contend  against  all 
the  gigantic  Anakim,  to  master  strange  languages,  overcome  malignant  hos- 
tility, face  martyrdom,  breathe  and  teach  in  the  Stirling  atmosphere  of  a  godless 
community,  begin  at  the  beginning,  with  souls  in  whom  even  moral  discrimina- 
tions were  well-nigh  obliterated  ;  the  average  growth  of  churches  in  pagan 
lands  is  threefold  as  great  as  throughout   Christendom,  and  the  average  per- 
severance of  confessors  of  Christ  in  pagan  lands  is,  as  many  missionaries  be- 
lieve, fourfold  what  it  is  at  home.     While  nominal  Christians  decry  the  mis- 
sionary work  abroad,  on   the  commercial  plea  that  "  it  does  not  pay,"   they 
betray  culpable,  almost  criminal,  ignorance  of  the  actual  comparative  results  ! 
Think  of  it  !     With  all  the  favoring  circumstances  attending  the  preaching  of 
the  Word  in  Christendom,  the  evangelization  of  the  heathen  world  is  proceed- 
ing three  times  as  fast  in   proportion   to  means  and  labor  expended  !      How 
many  of  our  systematic  or  spasmodic  contributors  who  give  nothing  to  foreign 
missions,  on  the  ground  that   they  do  not  pay,  know  these  and   similar   facts  ? 
And  can  we  be  guiltless,  if  we  are  in  needless  ignorance  of  them  ?     These  are 
some  of  the   awfully  weighty   arguments,  found   in   the   logic   of  events,  which 
constrain  us  to  confess,  as  the   magicians  did  when  they  saw  Moses'  miracles, 
"  This  is  the  finger  of  God/"    And  yet,  while  the  Divine  finger  thus  points  the 
Church   to   the  foreign   field  as  especially  a  fertile  one,  there  are   those   who 
would  tk  forbid  us  to  speak  to  the  Gentiles  that  they  might  be  saved"  (i  Thess. 
ii.  16)  ;  while  in  twenty-two  days,  5,429  new  converts  have  just  been  baptized 
in  the  Baptist  Mission  to  the  Teloogoos. 

5.  Another  marked  manifestation  of  God's  approval  of  the  foreign  mission- 
ary work,  is  found  in  the  doors,  great  a  fid  effectual,  which  Providence  has 
opened  before  us.     A  half  century  ago  and  we  might  almost  say  the  whole 


world  was  a  walled  city  with  shut  gates  ;  every  place  where  the  banner  of  the 
cross  now  waves  was  first  taken  and  held  by  the  courage  of  a  few  Christian 
soldiers.  Japan  sealed  the  ports  of  her  island  empire  ;  China  refused  to  un- 
lock her  iron  doors  ;  India  forbade  the  original  missionaries  to  land ;  Africa 
excluded  even  the  explorer.  Now,  where  is  the  land  to  which  the  missionary 
can  not  go  and  preach  and  teach  the  Gospel  ?  When  did  God  ever  present 
before  His  Church  fields  so  vast  and  doors  so  wide  ! 

Father  Gulick,  in  Japan,  is  spending  the  evening  of  his  days  watching  the 
progress  of  Gospel  triumph.  When  he  went  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  half  a 
century  ago,  he  found  eight  converts  only  among  that  people.  He  left  only 
after  the  whole  population  had  taken  rank  among  Christian  communities,  and 
the  Christian  religion  was  the  established  faith  of  the  Islands.  What  wonder 
that  he  who  has  seen  within  forty  years  a  pagan  nation's  doors  opened  to  the 
Gospel,  should  be  firm  in  faith  and  strong  in  hope  for  that  other  island  empire 
of  the  Pacific  ! 

This  is  one  side — the  encouraging  side — of  this  great  matter.  How  is  the 
Church,  and  especially  the  Presbyterian  Church,  meeting  the  command  of  her 
ascended  Lord,  and  the  demand  of  a  world  now  inviting  Christian  enterprise? 
After  praying  for  half  a  century  that  the  doors  of  access  and  approach  might 
be  opened  to  the  heathen,  now  when  in  every  land  the  Gospel  may  be  freely 
proclaimed,  what  is  the  attitude  of  the  Church?  We  answer,  with  candor  and 
with  sorrow,  that  no  enterprise  of  the  Church,  perhaps,  is  sustained  with  so  great 
difficulty  as  our  Foreign  Missionary  work.  This  vast  range  of  argument  and 
experiment,  these  appeals  drawn  from  the  most  weighty  considerations  and 
the  most  mighty  logic  of  events,  fail  to  arouse  the  Church  to  send  the  mis- 
sionary in  any  adequate  numbers,  or  even  to  give  money  in  any  adequate  ratio 
to  the  scope  and  need  of  the  work. 

With  the  leaders  occupying  positions  which  fit  them  to  see  the  whole  field, 
shouting  all  along  the  line  the  word  of  '-Advance,"  we  are  not  even  holding 
our  own  ;  we  are  actually  falling  back.  A  debt,  or  deficiency,  of  about  $50,000 
for  two  years  successively,  admonishes  the  overseers  of  this  work  that  even 
the  sum  asked  for  the  most  economical  maintenance  of  the  work  now  doing,  is 
more  than  the  Church  will  supply,  and  retrenchment  there  must  be,  at  a  time 
when  it  will  not  do  even  to  remain  stationary.  Missionaries  wait  to  go  to  for- 
eign fields,  because  there  is  no  money  in  the  treasury  to  furnish  them  support. 
One  godly  woman  gave  about  one-tenth  of  the  entire  contribution  last  year. 
In  a  Church  whose  600,000  members  have  an  aggregate  annual  income  esti- 
mated at  $250,000,000,  we  find  it  impossible  to  gather  more  than  about  seven- 
tenths  of  a  dollar  a  year  for  each  member- -a  tithe  of  this  aggregate  average 
income  would  yield  $25,000,000,  or  more  than  fifty  times  last  year's  offerings  / 
One  dollar,  as  the  annual  average  contribution  of  each,  would  give  us  $600,000. 

To  what  conclusion  must  we  come  but  that,  as  a  body,  the  Presbyterian 
Church  is  not  in  profound  sympathy  with  her  Lord,  in  His  work  among  the 
heathen  !     It  is  incredible  that,  if  we  were  sincerely  and  heartily  praying  for 


the  coming  of  His  kingdom,  watching  the  signs  of  the  times  and  the  leadings 
of  His  Providence,  grasping  the  wondrous  promises  of  the  Word,  and  measur- 
ing the  actual  success  attending  the  work,  we  could  allow  the  Foreign  Mission- 
ary movement  to  retrograde  or  even  stand  still ! 

It  is  said  that  these  are  times  of  unexampled  financial  depression  ;  but 
shall  our  economy  begin  at  the  house  of  God,  or  with  our  luxurious  self-in- 
dulgence ?  The  tithe  was  the  least  that  any  devout  Israelite  offered  to  God. 
What  if  to-day  one  tithe  of  all  our  income  were  laid  upon  our  Lord's  altar  ! 
How  would  our  church  treasuries  overflow!  Think  of  it  !  A  Church  of  more 
than  half  a  million  of  communicants  reports  something  over  eight  millions  of 
dollars  for  all  our  church  enterprises  and  benevolences,  including  "congrega- 
tional "  expenses  and  miscellaneous  offerings  ;  just  about  fifteen  dollars  a  year, 
ox  five  cents  a  day  for  each  member.  Can  "  hard  times"  alone  account  for 
that? 

Brethren,  we  need  to  reconstruct  our  habits  of  giving  upon  a  new  basis. 
Our  hearts  need  a  new  baptism  of  the  Holy  Ghost  and  of  fire.  Christ  must 
not  stand  waiting  for  His  soldiers  to  come  up  to  His  position,  that  He,  with 
them,  may  take  Satan's  strongholds  !  Let  the  Presbyterian  Church  prayerfully 
consider  whether  she  is  not  in  danger  of  practical  apostasy  in  the  matter  of 
Foreign  Missions  !  And  while  all  along  the  line  of  battle,  now  encompassing 
the  globe,  there  sounds  the  imperial  clarion  of  our  white-plumed  leader  and 
Lord,  summoning  His  host  to  the  onset,  let  there  be  a  grand  onward  move- 
ment from  every  quarter,  that  every  hostile  fortress  may  tremble  before  the 
overwhelming  charge  ! 


A  HISTORY  OF  THE  ORIGIN 


OF   THE 


BOARD  OF   FOREIGN    MISSIONS 


OF   THE 


PRESBYTERIAN    CHURCH. 


BY   THE 

REV.  WILLIAM   D.'  HOWARD,  D.  D., 

MINISTER  OF  THE  SECOND  PRESBYTERIAN  CHURCH,   PITTSBURGH,  PA.,  DELIVERED  AT   THE 
MISSIONARY  CONVENTION  HELD  IN  PITTSBURGH,   JANUARY,   1872. 


NEW   YORK: 
MISSION   HOUSE,   23   CENTRE  STREET. 

1872. 


MISSIONARY  ADDRESS. 


I  propose  to  give  a  brief  history  of  the  origin  of  the  Board  of  Foreign 
Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 

I  would  like  to  go  further  back.  I  would  like  to  speak  of  the  missionary 
labors  of  the  apostles  and  their  successors  for  some  generations,  which  re- 
sulted in  spreading  the  Gospel  throughout  the  Roman  empire  and  beyond 
the  Roman  empire.  I  would  like  to  speak  of  the  missionary  labors  of  the 
Nestorians  in  the  fifth  century  and  onwards,  who  planted  the  Gospel  among 
the  mountains  of  Malabar  in  India,  who  had  numerous  churches  in  the  vast 
regions  of  Tartary  from  the  Caspian  Sea  to  Mount  Imaus,  and  beyond ; 
through  the  greater  part  of  what  is  now  known  as  Chinese  Tartary,  and 
even  to  China  itself.  I  would  like  to  speak  of  Patrick,  who  was  not,  as 
many  suppose,  a  Roman  Catholic  saint,  but  an  earnest  evangelical  mission- 
ary, and  his  successful  labors  among  the  Druids  of  Ireland  ;  and  of  his  suc- 
cessors— Columba,  Columbanus,  and  Gallus — who,  long  before  Gregory  the 
Great  had,  whilst  yet  an  humble  priest,  seen  the  fair-faced  Angles  in  the 
slave  mart  at  Rome  and,  of  course,  long  before  as  Pope  he  had  sent  Augus- 
tine as  a  missionary  to  Britain,  had  conveyed  the  Gospel  to  Scotland  and 
England,  Gaul  and  Germany,  Switzerland  and  Lombardy.  I  would  like  to 
point  you  to  the  mission  schools  of  Edessa  and  Nissibis  in  the  East,  and  of 
Bangor  and  Iona  in  the  West,  sending  forth  their  troops  of  self-denying 
missionaries  to  lay  the  foundations  of  Christian  churches  in  every  part  of 
the  known  world.  It  was  at  the  fires  kindled  by  some  of  these  holy  men, 
whose  names,  alas  !  are  almost  forgotten,  that  the  torch  of  our  Western  civ- 
ilization was  lighted. 

But,  passing  over  many  centuries,  especially  would  I  like  to  tell  the  story 
of  Presbyterian  Missions  in  this  land.  The  first  Presbyterian  ministers 
who  labored  in  this  country,  which  was  as  early  as  the  latter  part  of  the 
sixteenth,  and  beginning  of  the  soventeenth  century,  were  missionaries  as 
well  as  pastors.  The  first  presbytery  was  a  missionary  presbytery.  One 
of  the  first  overtures  ever  presented  to  them  and  agreed  upon  was,  "  That 
every  minister  of  the  Presbytery  supply  neighboring  desolate  places  where 
a  minister  is  wanting  and  opportunity  of  doing  good  offers."  The  first 
synod  was  a  missionary  synod.  And,  one  of  the  earliest  acts  of  the  first 
General  Assembly,  passed  on  the  third  day  after  its  organization,  that  is, 


on  Saturday,  the  23d  of  May,  1789,  related  to  missions,  and  is  in  these 
words :  "  The  Committee  of  Bills  and  Overtures,  overture  that  the  state  of 
the  frontier  settlements  should  be  taken  into  consideration  and  missionaries 
sent  to  them,"  etc.  It  is  true,  reference  is  here  made  to  what  we  call 
Home  Missions,  but  efforts  were  made  at  the  same  time  to  convey  the  Gos- 
pel to  the  heathen  aborigines. 

But  even  more  than  these  things,  because  it  is  more  germane  to  the  mat- 
ter now  in  hand,  would  I  like  to  refer  to  the  early  missionary  efforts  of  the 
Synod  of  Pittsburgh.  This  Synod  was  organized  in  1802  ;  and,  on  the 
second  clay  of  its  first  meeting,  a  committee  was  appointed  to  "  digest  a 
plan  for  missionary  business."  A  scheme  was  recommended  by  this  com- 
mittee and  adopted  by  the  Synod,  which  embraced  the  following  features  : 
"  The  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  shall  be  styled  the  Western  Missionary  Society. 
The  object  shall  be  to  diffuse  tbe  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  among  the  in- 
habitants of  the  new  settlements,  the  Indian  tribes,  and,  if  need  be,  among 
some  of  the  interior  inhabitants  when  they  are  not  able  to  support  the  Gos- 
pel." They  appointed  a  Board  of  Trust,  and  made  arrangements  for  the  ap- 
pointment of  suitable  missionaries,  for  the  collection  and  disbursement  of 
funds,  for  holding  annual  meetings,  and  the  preaching  of  a  missionary  ser- 
mon annually  before  the  Synod.  This  plan  was  very  complete  and  it  worked 
admirably  for  many  years.  Possibly  here  is  to  be  found  the  germ  of  our  pres- 
ent Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

There  wrere  other  important  measures  adopted  in  relation  to  missions  by 
our  Church,  which  we  must  pass  over.  A  complete  history  of  Presbyteriau 
Missions  cannot  of  course  now  be  given.  I  shall  confine  myself  to  a  glance 
at  the  origin  of  the  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church. 
When  one  stands  before  a  grand  structure,  gazing  with  wonder  and  de- 
light upon  its  massive  w^alls,  the  graceful  outline  of  turret  and  pinnacle  and 
lofty  spire,  he  wants  to  know  something  of  its  history.  Whose  idea  is 
here  realized  in  enduring  stone  ?  Whose  skill  is  here  so  lavishly  displayed 
in  massive  doorway  and  pointed  arch,  and  painted  window  ?  It  adds  no 
little  to  the  pleasure  of  the  beholder  to  know  that  the  dome  of  St.  Peter's 
is  an  outgrowrth  of  the  genius  of  Michael  Angelo,  and  that  St.  Paul's  owes 
its  massive  grandeur  to  that  of  Sir  Christopher  Wren.  So,  when  We  stand 
in  the  presence  of  some  grand  institution  from  which  has  gone  forth  an  in- 
fluence to  the  four  quarters  of  the  globe,  waking  men  from  their  sleep  of 
sin,  and  doing  something  towards  shaking  venerable  systems  of  error  to 
their  lowest  foundations,  we  are  anxious  to  know  to  whose  sanctified  gen- 
ius the  Church  is  indebted  for  such  a  powerful  instrumentality  for  good. 

There  are  not  a  few  in  this  audience  who  remember  a  stately  man  who, 
with  measured  tread  and  abstracted  look  a  lew  years  since,  traversed  these 
streets.  And  many,  I  am  persuaded  will  retain — so  long  as  memory  con- 
tinues to  perform  its  oflice — a  recollection  of  his  fervid  eloquence,  as,  rising 
with  his  theme,  his  great  eye  all  aglow  with  the  fire  of  genius,  his  breast 


heaving  with  emotion,  and  his  majestic  form  raised  to  its  full  height,  in 
trumpet  tones  he  declaimed  against  sin,  or 

"  In  strains  as  sweet 
As  angels  use," 

he  plead  with  sinners  to  be  reconciled  to  God — I  mean  the  late  Dr.  Elisha 
P.  Swift,  in  whose  veins  not  only  flowed  the  blood  of  John  Eliot,  the  Apos- 
tle of  the  Indians,  but  in  whose  heart  glowed  an  equal  love  for  the  perish- 
ing heathen.  This  great  and  good  man  may  be  regarded  as  the  founder  of 
the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions. 

He  had  able  and  earnest  coadjutors.  In  his  own  Synod,  there  was  Dr. 
John  McMillan,  whose  iron  sinews  laid  the  foundations  of  our  Presbyterian 
Zion  in  Western  Pennsylvania;  and  Francis  Herron,  that  great-hearted 
Christian  gentleman,  and  Matthew  Brown,  the  gifted  and  skillful  Christian 
educator,  and  Charles  C.  Beatty,  a  descendant  of  the  first  American  minis- 
ter who  ever  preached  the  gospel  where  this  great  city  now  stands,  and 
David  Elliott,  who,  at  the  age  of  more  than  fourscore,  still  lingers  among 
us,  yet  helping  the  cause  of  Christ  by  his  wise  counsels  and  earnest  pray- 
ers. And  besides  there  was  the  earnest  and  generous  Campbell,  the  saintly 
McCurdy,  the  clear-sighted  McFarren,  and  many  others.  And  these  minis- 
ters were  aided  in  the  work  by  a  noble  band  of  intelligent  and  devoted 
elders,  among  whom  were  the  Hon.  Harmer  Denny,  and  Samuel  Thomp- 
son, and  John  Hannen,  and  Francis  G.  Bailey,  and  Richard  Edwards,  and 
many  besides.  Beyond  the  bounds  of  his  own  Synod,  Dr.  Swift  was  fa- 
vored with  the  counsels  and  encouragement  of  such  men  as  Dr.  Ashbel 
Green  of  Philadelphia,  and  Drs.  Archibald  Alexander  and  Samuel  Miller 
of  Princeton,  and  John  Breckenridge  of  Baltimore,  and  Joshua  Wilson  of 
Cincinnati,  and  William  W.  Phillips  of  New  York,  whose  church  was,  at 
the  beginning,  one  of  the  most  liberal  contributors  to  this  cause,  as  it  has 
continued  to  be  from  that  time  till  this. 

Here  the  name  of  another  early  friend  of  this  enterprise  should  be  men- 
tioned, the  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie,  who  subsequently  succeeded  Dr.  Swift  as 
the  Corresponding  Secretary  of  the  Board,  in  which  office  he  remained  till 
a  few  months  before  his  lamented  death  in  1868.  But  it  is  so  difficult,  in 
a  few  sentences,  to  do  justice  to  the  efficient  and  long  continued  services  of 
this  eminent  servant  of  God,  that  I  am  almost  tempted  to  omit  it  altogether, 
hoping  that  some  competent  hand  will  soon  make  the  Church  fully  acquain- 
ted with  her  indebtedness  to  him  in  relation  to  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions. 

Mr.  Lowrie  was  distinguished,  in  the  first  instance,  as  one  of  the  most 
liberal  contributors  to  this  cause.  The  first  reference  made  to  him  is  in 
May,  1833,  and  in  these  words;  "The  Treasurer  acknowledges  the  receipt 
of  $1,000,  for  the  purpose  of  paying  the  salary  of  the  Corresponding  Secreta- 
ry, for  the  present  year,  from  an  unknown  friend."  It  afterwards  was  as- 
certained that  this  "unknown  friend"  was  the  Hon.  Walter  Lowrie.  The 
contribution  was  as  timely  as  it  was  liberal,  for  by  it  the  infant  enterprise 


6 

was  relieved  from  great,  perhaps,  fatal  embarrassment.  In  1834,  Mr.  Low- 
rie  was  elected  one  of  the  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Society,  and  the  year 
following,  Dr.  Swift  having  signified  a  desire  to  return  to  the  pastoral  work, 
he  was  unanimously  elected  the  Corresponding  Secretary  and  General  Agent. 
On  this  occasion  the  Board  of  Directors  used  the  following  language  in  re- 
lation to  him,  which  in  the  light  of  his  subsequent  life  seems  almost  pro- 
phetic ;  "Should  he  accept  the  appointment,  it  is  hoped  that  his  talents, 
his  extensive  knowledge  of  men  and  things,  his  habits  of  strict  and  system- 
atic attention  to  business,  and  his  regard  to  the  honor  of  God  and  the  best 
interests  of  mankind,  will  render  his  labors  in  the  cause  of  Foreign  Missions 
highly  acceptable  to  our  churches,  and  eminently  useful,  under  God,  in 
forwarding  the  general  enterprise  of  evangelizing  the  world." 

For  some  reason  Mr.  Lowrie  did  not  at  this  time  accept  the  appointment. 
The  next  year,  1836,  the  Board  again  unanimously  elected  him.  On  the 
25th  of  August  he  announced  his  acceptance  of  the  office,  and  informed  the 
Board  that  he  would  enter  fully  upon  the  discharge  of  his  duties  in  Decern 
ber  of  that  year.  At  the  time  of  his  election  Mr.  Lowrie  held  an  honorable 
and  lucrative  office  in  the  Senate  of  the  United  States.  This,  at  no  little 
pecuniary  sacrifice,  he  relinquished,  and  gave  himself  wholly  to  the  work  of 
his  new  vocation.  In  subsequent  years  he  proved  his  love  for  this  work  and 
the  perishing  heathen  by  devoting  his  time,  his  fortune,  his  rare  talents  and 
indefatigable  industry,  and,  more  than  all  else,  three  gifted  and  godly  sons 
to  the  great  cause  of  Foreign  Missions. 

From  the  beginning  of  his  labors  Mr.  Lowrie  imparted  great  vigor  to  the 
cause.  The  Executive  Committee  under  his  lead,  immediately  determined 
not  only  to  enlarge  the  existing  missions,  but  to  establish  four  new  ones, 
— an  advance  contemplated  from  the  beginning  by  the  beloved  Senior  Sec- 
retary Dr.  Swift,  and  warmly  supported  by  his  counsels  and  influence.  To 
carry  out  this  purpose,  thirty-seven  missionaries  and  assistant  missionaries 
were  needed,  ten  of  whom  had  already  been  engaged.  One  of  the  new 
fields  was  China,  and  for  its  service  Mr.  Lowrie  possessed  a  special  quali- 
fication in  his  having  made  himself  acquainted  with  its  difficult  language. 
The  work  Mr.  Lowrie  now  entered  upon  proved  to  be  his  life-work,  and 
the  influence  he  exerted  on  the  cause  of  Foreign  Missions  was  not  second 
to  that  of  any  of  his  contemporaries  either  in  Europe  or  America. 

The  conviction  that  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Church  in  her  organized  capac- 
ity to  convey  the  Gospel  to  the  heathen,  was  the  cardinal  principle  upon 
which  these  men  acted.  After  much  consultation  and  correspondence, 
therefore,  it  was  resolved  to  organize  a  Society  for  this  purpose;  and,  as 
the  Synod  of  Pittsburgh  had  been  preeminent  in  her  zeal  and  success  in  the 
cause  of  missions,  it  was  thought  host  that  the  enterprise  should  be  inau- 
gurated by  it.  It  was  in  the  autumn  of  1831  that  these  brethren  were  pre- 
pared to  carry  their  cherished  purpose  into  effect. 

The  Synod  met  on  Thursday,  the  20th  of  October,  in  the  Second  Church 
in  this  City,  and  was  moderated  by  the  Rev.  Dr.  David  Elliott.     On  Friday, 


the  second  day  of  the  sessions,  the  Committee  of  Bills  and  Overtures 
brought  in  a  bill  on  the  subject  of  the  organization  of  a  Foreign  Missionary 
Society,  which  was  committed  to  Messrs.  E.  P.  Swift,  Luther  Halsey,  James 
Harvey,  Samuel  Tate,  and  Thomas  Hunt,  to  report  thereon  as  soon  as  pos- 
sible. On  Monday,  this  Committee  reported  the  plan  of  such  a  society. 
This  report,  I  have  reason  to  believe,  was  drawn  up  by  Dr.  Swift.  It  be- 
gins with  these  significant  sentences:  "It  is  a  fact  which  the  members  of 
the  Presbyterian  Church  in  common  with  some  other  branches  of  Christ's 
visible  empire  recognize  with  joy  and  gratitude  to  God,  that  the  indica- 
tions of  prophecy  and  the  signs  of  the  times  call  upon  all  who  love  our 
Lord  Jesus  Christ  in  sincerity,  of  every  denomination  and  of  every  clime, 
to  employ  redoubled  exertions  to  extend  the  glorious  Gospel  in  the  earth, 
and  especially  to  those  wTho  are  enveloped  in  pagan  and  ant i- christian  dark- 
ness. The  time  appears  to  have  come  svhen  Zion  should  awake  and  put  on 
her  strength,  and  not  only  plead  before  the  throne  with  increasing  importu- 
nity, for  the  fulfillment  of  the  blessed  promise  made  to  the  Mediator,  that 
all  nations  should  flow  unto  Him  and  be  saved,  that  the  mountain  of  the 
Lord's  house  may  be  established;  but  by  their  actual,  untiring  and  liberal 
exertions,  to  exemplify  the  reality  and  sincerity  of  their  desires,  to  convey 
to  a  dying  world  the  precious  blessings  contemplated  in  these  glorious 
engagements  of  the  covenant  of  redemption.  The  Church  and  the  world 
wait  to  see  such  a  degree  of  ardor  and  enterprise,  on  this  great  subject, 
as  the  love  of  Christ,  and  the  wants  of  man,  demand  of  his  own  blood- 
bought  family  ;  living  as  it  does  in  comfort  and  affluence,  and  possessing  the 
rich  favors  of  a  munificent  Providence." 

The  report  closes  with  two  resolutions,  one  of  which  is  as  follows — "  Re- 
solved, 1st.  That  it  is  expedient  forthwith  to  establish  a  Society  or  Board 
for  Foreign  Missions,  on  such  a  plan  as  will  admit  of  the  cooperation  of 
such  parts  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  as  may  think  proper  to  unite  with 
it,  in  this  great  and  important  concern."  Then  follows  the  Constitution  of 
the  Society,  the  first  Article  of  which  is  as  follows — "  This  Society  shall  be 
composed  of  the  ministers,  sessions  and  churches  of  the  synod  of  Pitts- 
burgh, together  with  those  of  any  other  synod  or  synods,  Presbytery  or 
Presbyteries,  that  may  hereafter  formally  unite  with  them,  and  shall  bj 
known  by  the  name  of  the  "Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  of  the 
United  States."  Other  articles  of  the  Constitution  made  provision  for  a 
Board  of  Directors,  an  Executive  Committee,  a  Corresponding  Secretary, 
Treasurer  and  other  officers,  and  whatever  else  was  necessary  to  carry  the 
work  efficiently  forward. 

Dr.  Swift  was  chosen  Corresponding  Secretary,  and  although  for  some 
time  he  continued  to  perform  the  duties  of  pastor  of  the  Second  Church, 
Pittsburgh,  with  a  rare  wisdom,  zeal  and  industry  he  carried  forward  the 
work  of  the  Missionary  Society.  The  Rev.  Elisha  McCurdy  was  chosen 
Treasurer,  and  Mr.  Samuel  Thompson,  an  elder  in  the  Second  Church, 
Assistant  Treasurer. 


s 

The  infant  institution  was  now  fairly  set  up.  It  was  modest,  feeble,  had 
but  few  friends,  and  I  am  sorry  to  add,  some  enemies.  Let  us  trace  its 
progress.  There  was  much  preliminary  work  to  be  done:  sermons  to  be 
preached  ;  addresses  to  be  penned,  printed  and  circulated ;  journeys  to 
be  made  and  meetings  to  be  held  ;  correspondence  to  be  had  with  those 
who  proposed  to  go  out  as  missionaries ;  and  missionary  fields  to  be  select- 
ed.    All  was  attended  to. 

One  of  the  first  things  the  Secretary  did  was  to  open  a  correspondence 
with  two  young  men  in  the  Seminary  at  Princeton,  Messrs.  John  B. 
Pinney  and  Joseph  W.  Barr,  in  relation  to  their  going  to  Africa.  They 
both  finally  consented,  and  were  the  first  missionaries  appointed  by  the 
Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society. 

The  next  thing  which  attracts  our  attention  is  the  collection  of  funds. 
Funds  came  to  the  help  of  the  young  Society  from  the  east,  the  west,  the 
north  and  south,  and  among  the  contributors  are  some  of  the  noblest  names  of 
the  church.  One  of  the  donations  was  a  pair  of  golden  ear-rings  from  a 
young  lady,  another  was  a  gold  ring  and  a  breast-pin  also  from  a  young 
lady.  The  young  women  of  the  church  were  among  the  earliest  friends  of 
this  noble  institution,  and  they  have  continued  to  be  till  this  day. 

Eighteen  months  passed  and  the  Society  rendered  its  first  report  in  May, 
1833. 

The  results  thus  far  were  briefly  as  follows  : 

Three  missionary  fields  had  been  selected.  One  in  Western  Africa,  one 
in  India,  and  a  third  among  the  North  American  Indians  west  of  the 
Mississippi.  Six  ordained  missionaries  had  been  appointed;  two  for 
Africa;  two  for  India;  and  two  to  the  Indians.  Most  of  these  were  mar- 
ried, so  that  there  were  some  twelve  missionaries  in  all.  One  had  already 
fallen  by  the  stroke  of  death.  The  Rev.  Joseph  W.  Barr,  just  as  he  was 
about  to  sail  from  Norfolk,  Va.,  for  his  distant  and  dangerous  field  in  Afri- 
ca, was  struck  down  by  cholera,  and  his  heroic  companion,  after  some 
unavoidable  delays,  sailed  alone,  thus  proving  himself  then,  as  he  has  by 
forty  years  of  toil  in  her  behalf  since,  one  of  the  truest  friends  that  down- 
trodden continent  ever  had.  The  collections  for  the  eighteen  months 
amounted  to,  $3,534.G5£. 

Though  these  results  are  not  very  flattering,  the  Society  during  this 
period  did  much  work  which  eluded  the  notice  of  most  observers,  in  lay- 
ing broad  and  deep  the  foundations  of  this  great  enterprise.  We  are 
reaping  the  valuable  results  of  this  silent  labor  to-day. 

The  founders  of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society  seem  to  have 
grasped  all  the  essential  features  of  the  missionary  work.  The  breadth 
and  comprehensiveness  of  their  views  fill  me  with  surprise. 

They  contemplated  reaching  not  only  the  whole  heathen  world,  but  the 
Moslem  and  Papist  populations,  including  those  in  Mexico  aud  South 
America,  which  countries  have  loomed  up  in  later  days  as  among  the  most 
important  missionary  fields  in  the  world.     They  displayed  preeminent  wis- 


9 

dom  in  selecting  their  fields  of  labors.     Africa,  which  has  ever  since  grown 
in  importance,  and  India,  where  an  influence  has  been  exerted  by  our  own 
and   other   missionaries,    which  promises    to    make  a  country  containing 
200,000,000   of  people    virtually    Christians,  within  the    life-time  of  some 
now  living.     And  they  not  only  selected  Africa  and  India,  but  their  eye 
was  upon  China,  Japan,  Persia,  Asia  Minor,  South  America,  and  other  lo- 
calities, which  in  the  forty  years  which  have  elapsed  have  been  proven  to  be 
missionary  fields  of  unsurpassed  promise.     They  were  only  deterred  from 
entering  some    of  them  by  the   fact  that    other   missionary    societies,  and 
especially  the  American  Board,  contemplated  occupying  some  of  the  most 
important  of  them.     Here  I  am  led  to  pause  to  notice  the  noble  Christian 
spirit  which  the  founders  of  our  Board  manifested  towards  the  American 
Board,  an  institution  which  they  revered  and  in  whose  growing  success  they 
rejoiced.    In  one  of  the  first  papers  they  issued  they  thus  speak  of  this  sister 
institution.    "  In  reference  to  the  American  Board  of  Commissioners  for  For- 
eign Missions,  we  hope  to  cherish  no  selfish  principles ;  and  we  shall  appeal  to 
no  sectarian  feeling.     We  contemplate  its  past  achievements  and  its  pres- 
ent prosperity  with  unmingled  pleasure.     Our  only  strife  will   be   to    copy 
its  every  good  example,  and  try  not  to  be  outdone  by  it  in  kind  affection  and 
Christian  magnanimity."     On  another  occasion  they  say,  "The  appearance 
of  this  Society  and  its  Journal,  on  the  great   field  of  evangelical  effort, 
with  chastened  hopes  and  meek  pretentions,  is  attended  with  sentiments  of 
veneration  and  love,  for  all  those  older  Institutions  which  it  finds   already 
gathering  the  trophies  of  sacred  victory.     Of  that  Board   (the  American), 
especially,  which  has  for  better  than  twenty  years,  so  ably  and  faithfully  sus- 
tained the  best  hopes  of  the  American  Churches,  it   would   devoutly   say : 
1  May  its  bow  abide  in  strength,  and  the  arms  of  its  hands  be  made  strong 
by  the  hands  of  the  mighty  God  of  Jacob.'     '  Because  of  the  house  of  the 
Lord  our  God,  we  would  seek  thy  good.'"     Men  of  such  a  spirit  as  this 
proved  themselves  to  be  fitted  to  found  a  great  religious  institution. 

One  more  evidence  of  their  wide  and  comprehensive  views  is  found  in 
their  remarkable  enterprise.  They  founded  a  missionary  journal,  which 
has  been  published  by  the  Board  ever  since  ;  and  I  think  I  may  say,  with- 
out in  the  remotest  degree  disparaging  its  present  editors,  the  first  volume 
evinces  no  less  ability  in  its  getting  up,  and  is  quite  as  valuable  as  a  mis- 
sionary periodical,  as  the  last.  And  both  the  first  volume  and  the  last, 
and  all  the  intermediate  volumes,  I  regard  as  invaluable. 

They  adopted  the  most  efficient  means  of  interesting  churches,  sessions, 
Presbyteries,  and  Synods.  They  sought  out  young  men  in  colleges  and 
theological  seminaries,  and  urged  them,  by  the  most  earnest  and  eloquent 
appeals,  to  consider  the  •claims  of  the  foreign  field.  And  last,  but  not 
least,  they  secured  the  co-operation  of  the  women  and  children  of  the 
church.  Your  women's  societies  and  your  Sunday-school  collections  for 
missions,  are  no  new  things.  In  a  word,  nothing  has  been  done  by  their 
successors  that  evinces  more  true  wisdom  in  relation  to  the  great  work  of 


10 

missions,  than  was  done  by  these  founders  of  our  Board.  They  seem  to 
have  surveyed  the  whole  ground,  and  to  have  suggested  almost  every 
great  principle  and  almost  every  important  plan  that  has  been  acted  upon 
since. 

t 

The  second  annual  meeting  of  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society 
was  held  in  the  First  Church,  Pittsburgh,  in  May,  1834.  The  Board  re- 
ported that  during  the  past  year  seven  ministers  of  the  gospel,  together 
with  nine  other  persons,  sixteen  in  all,  had  been  sent  out,  under 
the  auspices  of  the  Society,  to  labor  among  the  heathen  ;  and  that  $16,- 
29G.46i  had  been  contributed  to  its  funds.  Death  had  again  been  doing 
its  work,  both  among  the  little  missionary  band  and  the  friends  of  the 
cause  at  home.  Dr.  McMillan,  one  of  the  vice-presidents,  and  fastest  friends 
of  the  cause  ;  Thomas  T.  Skillman,  Esq.,  one  of  its  earliest  life-members  ; 
and  Mrs.  Louisa  A.  Lowrie,  the  wife  of  the  Rev.  John  C.  Lowrie,  had  been 
called  away.  The  little  company,  consisting  of  the  Rev.  John  C.  Lowrie 
and  the  Rev.  William  Reed  and  their  wives,  who  went  out  to  India, 
reached  Calcutta  in  October,  1833.  Mrs.  Lowrie  was  seriously  ill  on  the 
voyage,  grew  rapidly  worse  after  she  landed ;  and  although  every  atten- 
tion was  paid  her,  and  every  comfort  secured  to  her  in  the  house  of  a  no- 
ble English  Baptist  missionary,  the  Rev.  William  H.  Pearce,  she  soon 
passed  away,  and  was  buried  at  Calcutta,  on  the  threshold  of  her  chosen 
field  of  labor.  The  Rev.  Mr.  Reed,  after  his  arrival  at  Calcutta,  became 
so  ill  that  he  was  obliged,  in  a  few  months,  to  leave  India,  in  company 
with  his  young  wife,  with  the  hope  of  again  reaching  his  native  land.  But 
this  was  denied  him.  He  sank  rapidly,  and  soon  after  leaving  Calcutta 
died  ;  and  his  earthly  remains  found  a  burial  in  the  Bay  of  Bengal,  near 
the  Andaman  Islands.  Mr.  Lowrie,  discouraged  and  saddened,  was  now 
left  to  proceed  alone  to  his  distant  field  of  labor.  This  he  did,  and  suc- 
ceeded, though  brought  near  to  the  grave  by  sickness,  in  planting  our  mis- 
sion at  Lodiana,  in  Northern  India,  which  was  the  first,  and  has  grown  to 
be  one  of  the  most  important  missions  of  our  Church. 

That  so  many  discouragements,  especially  so  many  deaths,  did  not  weaken 
the  hands  of  the  friends  of  the  cause,  is  an  evidence  that  they  were  men 
"  full  of  faith  and  of  the  Holy  Ghost."  I  think  I  discovered,  in  reading 
over  some  dry  records  a  few  days  since,  one  cause  why  they  held  so  stead- 
ily on  their  way  amid  darkness  and  storm  and  apparent  rebuke.  It  is  thus 
expressed  :  "  Besolvcd,  That  the  members  of  this  Synod  will  meet  in  the 
churches  of  this  city  and  Allegheny  town,  every  morning  during  their  ses- 
sions, at  the  rising  of  the  sun,  to  spend  some  time  in  special  prayer  to  God 
for  the  outpouring  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  themselves  and  the  churches  un- 
der their  care."  Men  who  assemble  every  morning  at  the  sunrising  to 
pray,  are  not  likely  to  turn  aside  from  the  path  of  duty,  though  it  be  rug- 
ged, steep,  and  stormy. 

But  I  must  hasten  to  a  conclusion.  The  Western  Foreign  Missionary 
Society  continued  its  work,  with  varied  success,  for  about  six  years,  when. 


11 

in  June,  1837,  a  Board  of  Foreign  Missions  was  organized  by  the  General 
Assembly  of  the  Presbyterian  Church.  To  this  Board  the  Synodical  Soci- 
ety subsequently  transferred  all  its  missions  and  funds.  At  the  time  of 
this  transfer  there  were  five  missions,  namely  :  Northern  India,  with  four 
stations  ;  Western  Africa  ;  Smyrna  ;  China,  and  the  Western  Indians. 
There  were  twenty-four  male  missionaries  and  assistants,  and  twenty  fe- 
males— forty-four  in  all.  The  receipts  for  the  last  year  of  the  separate  ex- 
istence cf  the  Western  Foreign  Missionary  Society,  that  is,  the  year  ending 
October,  1837,  was  $40,  260.53,  which  was  more  than  eleven-fold  more  than 
had  been  collected  in  the  first  eighteen  months  of  its  existence. 

Since  the  work  of  Foreign  Missions  has  been  conducted  by  the  General 
Assembly,  there  has  been  a  steady,  healthy,  and  most  encouraging  growth. 
From  one  mission  in  1833,  we  have  grown,  in  less  than  forty  years,  to  thir- 
teen missions;  from  one  station  in  1833,  to  over  two  hundred  stations  in 
1872;  from  five  or  six  missionary  laborers  in  1833,  to  nearly  eight  hundred, 
one  hundred  and  twenty-eight  of  whom  are  ordained  missionaries,  in  1872; 
and  from  a  contribution  amounting  to  a  little  over  $3,500,  to  a  contribu- 
tion, according  to  the  last  annual  report  of  the  Board,  amounting  to  nearly 
1334,000,  of  which  about  $24,000  were  raised  by  the  children  of  the  Church. 

Less  than  forty  years  ago,  the  Presbyterian  Church  in  the  United  States, 
held  up  by  a  single  sick,  albeit  a  heroic,  faithful,  resolute  hand,  a  solitary 
torch  of  gospel  light  on  all  the  eastern  part  of  the  vast  continent  of  Asia, 
and  one  other  by  an  equally  brave  and  devoted  hand  on  the  continent  of 
Africa;  now,  though  we  cannot  say  of  our  Presbyterian  missions  as  some 
one  has  said  of  the  British  empire,  "  the  sun  never  sets  upon  it,"  yet  we 
can  say  that  the  sun  as  he  rises  in  the  east  scarcely  greets  the  land  until 
he  finds  our  mission  in  Japan ;  then,  as  he  pursues  his  western  way,  he 
looks  down  at  our  mission  at  Shanghai,  with  its  press  of  movable  Chi- 
nese type,  first  used  by  our  missionaries  in  that  vast  empire,  and  which  is 
destined  to  revolutionize  the  art  of  printing  in  its  original  home:  then  a 
little  further  he  finds  Ningpo,  with  its  numerous  Presbyterian  congrega- 
tions, and  then  upon  Tungchow,  with  its  deep  religious  interest,  and  Pekin 
the  capital  of  the  empire,  with  its  earnest  laborers  and  a  government  col- 
lege, at  the  head  of  which  is  a  Presbyterian  minister,  who  went  abroad  as 
a  Presbyterian  missionary ;  a  little  further  west,  and  considerably  to  the 
south,  he  beholds  our  mission  at  Canton,  with  the  veteran  Happer,  from 
amid  our  own  Western  Pennsylvanian  hills,  at  its  head  ;  and  then,  as  he 
continues  his  journey  to  the  west,  he  meets  our  missions  in  Siam  and 
among  the  Laos  ;  and  presently  his  glowing  eye  lights  upon  that  glorious 
cluster  of  missions  in  Northern  India,  the  first-born  of  the  whole  family, 
with  its  teeming  presses,  its  schools,  its  churches,  its  native  pastors  and 
native  teachers.  He  scarcely  loses  sight  of  these  till  he  finds  our  Persian 
mission,  founded  by  the  American  Board,  and  passes  over  to  us  as  one  of 
the  results  of  the  happy  reunion  of  the  long-sundered  branches  of  our  be- 


12 

loved  Church ;  a  mission  most  interesting  as  being  among  a  people  who,  as 
it  seems  to  me,  are  the  descendants  of  the  lost  tribes  of  Israel,  and  whose 
missionary  labors,  in  the  early  centuries  of  our  era,  eclipse  everything  of 
the  kind  even  in  these  latter  days.  The  sun,  still  continuing  his  course, 
passing  over  the  ruins  of  buried  empires,  amid  the  mountains  of  Lebanon 
and  on  to  the  shore  of  the  Great  Sea,  and  on  the  borders  of  the  favored 
land  where  Christianity  was  cradled,  looks  down  upon  our  prosperous 
mission  in  Syria,  another  rich  legacy  from  the  American  Board ;  and  thus 
as  almost  the  first  object  that  greeted  his  rising  upon  Asia  was  a  Presby- 
rian  mission,  so  almost  the  last  upon  which  he  shed  his  beams  as  he  leaves 
that  continent,  was  a  Presbyterian  mission. 

But  even  yet  he  has  not  seen  all  that  God  is  permitting  our  beloved 
Church  to  do  in  this  great  behalf.  As  he  pursues  his  westward  way, 
reaching  Europe  he  observes  our  quiet,  but  earnest  and  faithful  laborers 
in  Italy,  Belgium,  France,  doing  their  blessed  work  among  the  deluded  • 
followers  of  the  Man  of  sin  ;  and  as  he  passes  on,  glancing  far  to  the  south, 
he  finds  that  our  Church  has  her  representatives  among  the  dusky  peoples 
of  Africa,  in  Liberia,  among  many  of  her  towns,  at  the  Gaboon  river,  and 
on  the  island  of  Corisco.  And  now,  leaving  the  old  world  and  crossing 
the  Atlantic,  among  the  first  things  that  greet  him  as  he  gazes  down  upon 
our  own  continent,  are  our  missions  in  North  and  South  America  ;  among 
the  descendants  of  "  the  friend  of  God"  in  New  York,  and  among  the  Portu- 
guese and  Spanish-speaking  populations  of  Brazil,  the  United  States  of 
Colombia,  and  Mexico.  And  then  as  he  passes  on  to  his  setting,  he  be- 
holds our  faithful  missionaries  laboring  to  Christianize  our  Indian  tribes, 
the  Senecas,  the  Chippewas,  the  Omahas,  the  Creeks,  the  Seminoles,  and 
others  ;  and  finally,  as  he  completes  his  circuit  of  the  heavens,  just  before 
he  sinks  into  the  great  sea,  he  looks  upon  our  Chinese  mission  in  Cali- 
fornia. 

Now,  are  not  these  things  wonderful  ?  Has  there  not  been  marvellous 
and  encouraging  growth  ?  Less  than  forty  years  ago  a  little  spark  of 
holy  fire  was  struck  in  the  old  Second  Presbyterian  Church  down  here  in 
Diamond  alley,  and  behold  it  has  kindled  a  flame  that  almost  encircles  the 
globe.     "  It  is  the  Lord's  doing,  and  marvellous  in  our  eyes." 

But  there  are  gaps  to  be  filled  up.  Methinks  if  the  sun  could  weep  he 
would  when  he  finds  the  distance  so  great  from  one  mission  station  to  an- 
other. Those  who  preceded  us,  at  infinite  toil  and  self-sacrifice  reared 
their  Christian  altars,  and  kindled  the  sacred  fire  on  them,  on  these  salient 
points  which  I  have  mentioned.  It  is  for  us  now  to  go  forth  and  fill  up 
the  chasms  until  there  is  an  unbroken  circle  of  Gospel  light  around  the 
globe.  Oli,  who  here  is  such  a  craven  as  not  to  be  willing  to  do  and  dare 
and  suffer  anything  for  so  good  a  Master  and  so  great  a  cause  ? 


OUR  MISSION  TO  THE  EAST: 

BEING   THE    SUBSTANCE    OF 

AN    ADDRESS 

BEFORE    THE 

GENERAL  ASSEMBLY  OF  THE    PRESBYTERIAN   CHURCH  IN 
IRELAND,  ON  THE  7th  OF  JUNE,  1878. 


BY  THE 


Rev.  W.  Fleming  Stevenson,  M.A., 

CONVENER   OF   THE   ASSEMBLY'S   FOREIGN    MISSION. 


NEW   YORK: 
MISSION    HOUSE,    23    CENTRE    STREET. 

1878. 


NOTE. 


The  speech,  of  which  this  is  the  substance,  has  been  printed 
from  the  report  in  the  newspapers ;  but  as  it  was  only  spoken  from 
rough  notes,  and  as  the  length  to  which  it  extended  made  it  impos- 
sible to  have  a  report  of  all  that  was  said,  some  of  the  omissions 
have  been  supplied  from  memory,  and  a  few  sentences  have  been 
borrowed  from  an  address  delivered  on  the  following  day  at  the 
Annual  Meeting  of  the  Female  Mission  Association,  and  for  which 
one  or  two  questions,  more  proper  to  the  general  subject,  had,  of 
necessity,  been  reserved. 

W.   F.  S. 


ADDRESS 


IN  SUPPORTING  THE  ADOPTION  OF  THE  REPORT 
ON  FOREIGN  MISSIONS  PRESENTED  TO  THE 
GENERAL    ASSEMBLY. 


Moderator,  Fathers,  and  Brethren  : 

The  peculiar  circumstances  under  which  I  have  been  asked  to 
support  the  adoption  of  this  very  encouraging  and  admirable  Report 
will,  perhaps,  be  sufficient  apology  if  I  wander  somewhat  from  the 
text,  and  if  I  shall  ask  you  to  take  a  wider  survey  of  missions  than 
is  embraced  by  the  fields  which  our  brethren  are  cultivating  in 
Gujarat  and  Mantchooria.  It  is  almost  a  year,  since,  at  the  request 
of  the  last  General  Assembly,  I  went  as  your  messenger  to  our 
mission  churches  in  China  and  India.  It  was  only  at  the  end  of 
last  week  that  I  was  able  to  return.  By  constraint  of  the  season 
and  the  climate  it  was  necessary  to  visit  China  first  and  to  visit  it 
by  way  of  the  Pacific,  and  thus  there  was  a  brief  opportunity  to 
glance  at  one  of  the  most  recent  missions,  that  in  Japan.  You  will 
readily  understand,  however,  that  fresh  from  such  a  journey  and  still 
confused  by  a  constant  succession  of  novel  pictures  and  perplexing 
and  always  earnest  problems,  I  am  not  in  a  position  to  lay  before 
you  that  careful  and  well-weighed  statement  I  would  desire.  There 
has  been  as  yet  no  time  to  put  these  experiences  in  order,  and  so 
to  render  a  fair  account  of  my  stewardship.  I  must  rather  (and 
the  enthusiastic  warmth  of  your  welcome  to-night,  touching  me 
more  deeply  than  I  can  find  words  to  express,  makes  it  the  more 
needful)  ask  your  indulgence  while  I  mention,  and  without  even 
attempting  arrangement,  those  impressions  that  lie  upon  the  sur- 
face ;  and  as,  of  necessity,  they  must  be  both  somewhat  hasty  and 
imperfect,  I  trust  with  your  permission  (God  giving  me  health,  and 
as  far  as  pastoral  work  may  allow)  to  rectify  the  blunders,  and  sup- 
plement, at  least,  some  of  the  shortcomings  when  allowed  to  address 
your  own  people  and  by  the  fireside  in  your  own  manses. 

Before  proceeding  farther,  it  would  be  ungenerous  not  to  make 
acknowledgment  of  the  help  from  many  quarters  that  has  made  this 
long  journey  possible.  I  may  be  excused  if  I  mention  first  the 
ready  mind  of  my  own  congregation  ;  their  co-operation — and  it  was 
the  co-operation  of  a  very  practical  as  well  as  very  genuine  and  con- 


tinuous  sympathy — lightened  the  pain  and  anxiety  of  separation  ; 
nor,  during  the  long  interval,  so  far  as  I  can  learn,  have  they  been 
less  ready  in  attendance  on  public  worship  or  in  their  support  of 
Christian  work.  It  is  a  severe  strain  on  any  congregation  ;  and  as 
one  of  those  ministers  whose  lot  has  been  cast  in  the  Southern  part 
of  our  island,  I  feel  the  more  satisfaction  when  it  is  a  Southern  con- 
gregation which  has  borne  that  strain  with  a  fidelity  to  our  Church 
that  may  be  difficult  although  we  all  know  that  it  is  right.  And 
here  I  find  myself  already  led  into  another  acknowledgment :  for 
the  aid  which  so  many  of  my  brethren  rendered,  sustaining  our 
church  services  at  no  little  inconvenience  to  themselves,  yet  with 
an  unbroken  regularity  and  to  the  great  delight  and  benefit  of  those 
to  whom  they  ministered,  removed  much  of  the  apprehension  that 
was  only  natural  both  in  pastor  and  people.  There  is  one  also  to 
whom  peculiarly  belongs  whatever  good  may  be  now  or  afterward 
gained  from  the  journey — one  who  for  years  has  been  quietly,  but 
always  helpfully  active  in  every  good  work,  who  conceived  this 
project  and  urged  it  until  it  was  adopted,  and  through  whom  mainly 
the  means  were  furnished  which  made  it  possible  without  charging 
one  penny  of  the  large  outlay  on  the  funds  of  the  mission — I  mean 
the  Rev.  George  Shaw. 

The  General  Assembly  of  last  year  very  properly  acknowledged 
the  important  help  afforded  by  both  the  Right  Hon.  the  Secretary 
of  State  for  Foreign  Affairs  and  the  Right  Hon.  the  Secretary  of 
State  for  India.  I  have  simply  to  add  that  the  letters  which  they 
were  good  enough  to  furnish,  not  only  enabled  me  to  receive  the 
most  valuable  information,  but  led  to  many  courtesies  that  have 
laid  us  under  the  pleasantest  obligation.  Nor  would  it  be  gener- 
ous to  omit  mention. of  the  similar,  but  unusual  attention  of  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  which,  departing  from  custom, 
not  only  placed  at  my  disposal  introductions  to  all  its  Ministers  in 
the  East,  but  enlisted  any  service  they  might  have  it  in  their  power 
to  offer  ;  and  this  was  done  avowedly  because  the  journey  was  un- 
dertaken in  the  interest  of  Christian  missions,  and  in  Christian  mis- 
sions America  has  as  large  and  noble  a  stake  as  Great  Britain. 
Sir,  it  is  in  such  acts  as  these  we  recognize  the  deep  underlying 
unity  that  binds  the  English-speaking  rice,  a  unity  that  is  even 
stronger  than  that  of  our  common  blood  and  common  tongue,  a 
union  of  brotherhood  between  the  United  States  and  ourselves,  the 
brotherhood  of  sympathy  with  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord  Jesus  Christ 
and  on  which  we  can  build  invincible  hopes  of  a  lasting  concord 
between  these  great  peoples. 


5 

There  was  another  service  rendered  of  a  nature  that  could 
scarcely  be  exaggerated,  and  which  1  felt  throughout  to  be  of  a  de- 
lightful character.  I  refer  to  the  letters  which  were  furnished  by 
the  Missionary  Societies,  not  merely  those  that  represent  the  Pres- 
byterian Church,  but,  it  may  be  said,  of  all  our  Protestant  Churches 
not  only  in  Great  Britain,  but  in  Germany  and  the  United  States. 
But  for  this  truly  catholic  and  large-hearted  spirit  it  would  have 
been  impossible  to  have  had  in  every  great  city  we  entered  in  the 
East  those  conferences  with  the  missionaries  of  every  denomination 
which  were  so  pleasant  in  themselves  and  so  rich  and  suggestive  in 
their  information.  And  I  wish  just  in  passing  to  say  that  through- 
out the  field  of  Missions,  as  far  as  we  saw  it,  I  was  constantly  re- 
minded that  it  is  possible  to  have  the  most  profound  attachment  to 
a  particular  Church,  and  the  most  loving  and  practical  fellowship 
with  the  ministers  of  every  other  Church  that  works  for  the  same 
Master.  I  know  there  are  exceptions,  but  they  are  treated  as  ex- 
ceptions that  infringe  the  spirit  of  Christian  liberty,  as  well  as  the 
spirit  of  Christian  love;  and  I  have  returned  with  the  conviction 
that  the  time  will  come,  slowly,  but  surely  come,  when  at  home  the 
same  temper  will  be  the  rule,  and  not,  as  it  is  now,  so  rare  as  to  be 
almost  distrusted,  and  when,  as  in  India,  the  report  of  one  Church 
will  point  with  cordial  pleasure  to  the  success  and  excellencies  in 
the  work  of  another. 

Here  I  would  close  this  succession  of  acknowledgments  but  for 
one  incident  that  was  all  the  more  touching  because  I  was  far  from 
home,  I  mean  the  distinguishing  mark  of  sympathy  with  the  Mission 
that  so  many  Presbyteries  showed  in  their  nomination  for  the 
Moderator's  chair.  I  have  to  throw  myself  on  the  indulgence  of 
my  brethren  for  the  prompt  action  that  it  was  necessary  to  take 
when  the  first  rumors  reached  India.  It  was  not  till  long  after  that 
I  learned  over  how  wide  an  area  that  sympathy  had  spread.  The 
Church  has  not  been  slow  to  remember  with  honor  the  great  mission 
to  the  heathen  which  she  labors  to  accomplish.  The  venerable 
missionary,  who,  after  six  and  thirty  years  of  service  in  India,  dis- 
charged with  so  much  energy  and  zeal  the  functions  of  Convener 
during  the  past  year  has  already  held  the  highest  post  to  which  our 
ministers  can  be  called  ;  and  beside  you,  sir,  there  is  one  who  has 
but  just  laid  down  the  duties  of  the  chair,  one  in  whom  all  our  Mis- 
sions may  be  said  to  be  represented,  in  whose  long-merited  distinc- 
tion they  all  share,  and  whose  undiminished  vigor  and  sagacity  in 
the  conduct  of  affairs  we  all  pray  that  they  may  long  enjoy.  There 
are  numbers  of  my  fathers  and  brethren  whose  claims  and  fitness 


for  that  office  place  them  first,  and  I  rejoice  to  speak  to-night  under 
the  presidency  of  one  whose  generous  sympathies,  ripe  learning, 
and  repute  as  a  Christian  teacher  bring  lustre  to  his  office,  and  for 
whom  there  is  but  one  wish  in  this  House  and  in  all  the  Church, 
that  he  may  long  be  spared  to  be  "  a  prophet  of  our  own."  For 
me,  to  serve  is  all  my  care,  to  serve  the  Master  of  Assemblies  and 
the  Master  of  us  all,  and  every  year  I  live  I  rejoice  the  more  that 
that  service  is  in  the  house  of  Presbyterian  ancestry  and  Presby- 
terian order. 

So  much  it  was  imperative  on  me  to  say  before  proceeding 
further.  As  for  the  journey  itself,  I  shall  not  profess  to  describe  it. 
It  may  be  readily  conceived  that  the  extent  of  ground  which  it 
covered  and  the  variety  of  incident  would  demand  a  longer  time  for 
the  narration.  Letters  written  as  a  friendly  link  between  a  pastor 
and  his  flock  have  been  published,  I  find,  in  the  Missionary  Herald, 
and  give  at  least  an  outline  of  the  way.  I  feel  it  would  be  more  in 
keeping  with  the  business  of  this  House  and  the  time  at  your  dis- 
posal if  I  confine  your  attention  to  some  of  the  general  impressions 
that  have  been  left  upon  my  mind.  As  I  have  said  already,  I  do 
not  profess  to  give  under  this  or  any  other  guise  an  exhaustive 
statement,  or  to  treat  with  any  attempt  at  thoroughness  the  great 
problems  of  the  Mission.  The  visit  has  been  too  recently  con- 
cluded to  allow  of  leisure  for  a  task  like  that,  and  as  yet  I  some- 
times feel  like  one  walking  in  a  dream  through  lands  and  among 
people  remote  from  this.  But  having  honestly  tried  to  get  at  the 
best  information  I  could,  having  sought  the  opinions,  not  of  friends 
of  missions  only,  but  of  those  who  are  unfriendly  and  skeptical,  hav- 
ing listened  to  consuls  and  merchants  and  sea-captains,  to  officials 
of  every  grade,  and  to  educated  and  most  commonly  non-Christian 
natives  wherever  I  found  them,  the  general  impressions  that  have 
been  left  are  perhaps  the  best  that  I  can  offer.  And  I  think  the 
first  is  of  the  vastness  of  the  enterprise  represented  by  these  East- 
ern missions. 

At  a  low  estimate,  the  population  of  India,  China,  and  Japan 
must  be  at  least  seven  hundred  millions,  or  about  one-half  the  pop- 
ulation of  the  world.  I  know  how  hard  it  is  to  grasp  the  enormous 
and  infinitely  varied  life  that  lies  behind  such  figures.  To  take  the 
population  of  China  alone,  there  is  a  calculation  that  if  the  people 
passed  a  given  point  in  single  file,  the  last  of  the  procession  would 
not  have  arrived  for  more  than  twenty-three  years  after  the  first  had 
passed  out  of  sight.  But  when  we  spread  these  millions  over  so 
vast  an  area  that  not  only  Ireland  or  Great  Britain,  but  France  or  Ger- 


many  become  mere  provinces,  so  that  we  might  divide  it  into  fifty 
counties  each  as  large  as  Scotland,  we  may  better  realize  the  im- 
pression left  upon  a  visitor.  I  remember,  when  climbing  a  hill 
some  way  out  of  Peking  (which,  if  you  will  recall  the  map,  seems  to 
lie  near  the  Northern  frontier  of  China),  and  being  pointed  out  a 
range  of  mountains  beyond  which  lay  the  Great  Wall,  that  I  asked 
how  long  it  might  take  to  reach  the  limits  of  the  empire  in  that 
direction,  and  I  remember  the  reply,  that  the  carts  proceeding  from 
the  capital  with  treasure  for  the  army  of  the  Northwest  consumed 
more  than  three  months  on  the  journey.  There  is  one  district  in 
India  of  which  we  seldom  hear,  and  which  to  ninety-nine  persons 
.out  of  a  hundred  might  disappear  without  leaving  any  trace  of 
astonishment  or  regret ;  and  yet  Central  India  (for  I  allude  to  it) 
is  as  large  as  Great  Britain  and  France  and  Spain.  There  is  a  mis- 
sionary who  is  said  to  have  preached  during  ten  years  in  two  thou- 
sand four  hundred  towns  (and  there  were  more  than  two  thousand 
where  he  could  discover  no  trace  of  the  Gospel  having  been  preached 
before),  and  all  these  towns,  some  of  them  with  a  population  as 
large  as  that  of  one  of  our  cities,  were  in  one  district  of  India. 
There  are  four  Indian  rivers  that  if  they  ran  in  a  continuous  line 
would  cover  twice  the  distance  between  Liverpool  and  New  Yoik, 
while  the  total  area  of  their  basins  is  nearly  1,300,000  square  miles  ; 
and  in  China,  the  mighty  Yang-tz,  which  at  many  points  is  twenty 
miles  broad  after  the  rainy  season,  is  navigated  by  merchant  junks 
and  partly  by  steamers  for  eighteen  hundred  miles  inland  from  its 
mouth.  Why,  sir,  notwithstanding  the  network  of  railways  that  is 
being  spread  over  our  empire  in  the  East,  there  are  many  places  in 
that  country  so  wide  apart  that  for  residents  in  one  to  reach  another 
would  be  a  more  costly  journey  and  occupy  far  more  time  than  the 
journey  home  to  England.  It  would  be  easy  to  multiply  such  illus- 
trations. They  were  continually  occurring  to  us,  and  by  degrees 
(but  only  by  degrees)  we  began  to  understand  the  vast  area  which 
the  mission  lines  must  cover. 

And  then  I  must  confess  to  another  surprise  that  was  in  store  for 
us  ;  I  mean  the  traces  we  met  eveiywhere  of  a  high  culture  and  a 
forward  civilization,  traces  that  were  numerous  and  striking  and 
altogether  beyond  what  any  previous  reading  had  led  us  to  expect. 
I  do  not  wish  to  be  misunderstood  when  grouping  these  Eastern 
lands  together,  as  if  the  races  or  the  progress  of  their  culture  were 
similar.  They  are  very  different.  And  if  we  were  to  imagine  that 
the  various  regions  of  China  or  of  India  are  as  much  one  as  those  of 
England  (or  of  Ireland,  where  the  likeness  is  less)  it  would  be  mis- 


8 

leading.     When  we  speak  of  China  or  of  India  we  mean  the  same 
almost  as  when  we  speak  of  Europe,  a  cluster  of  provinces  as  wide 
apart  from  one  another  in  language,  and  often  in  habits,  as  Sweden 
from  Italy  or  Holland  from  Spain.      But  there  are  at  the  same  time 
broad  characteristics  that  mark  them   all,  and  culture   and   mental 
power  are  among  them.      It  is  not   possible  to  say  at  what  remote 
date  these  populations  took  their  place  among  civilized  nations;  but 
there  is  an  interesting  passage   in   one   of  Max  Muller's   lectures 
where  he  shows  from  a  comparative  study  of  languages  that  a  thou- 
sand years  before  Agamemnon,  the  Aryans  built  permanent  houses 
and  had  an  orderly  government.     The  present  Emperor  of  Japan  is 
the  hundred  and  twenty-first  of  his  line  and  dynasty,  a  dynasty  that 
can  be  traced  back  to  a  time  contemporary  with  the  reign   of   King 
Josiah  in  Jerusalem.     There  are  places  in  India  like  the  neighbor- 
hood of  Benares  and  the  neighborhood  of  Delhi  where  the  ruins  of 
successive  cities,  like  geological  strata,  reveal  the  various  epochs  of 
the  past,  where  they  go  back  so  far  that  they  lead  us  into  the  regions 
of  primeval   legend,  and  where,  through  the   dead   and   moldering 
stones,  the  voices  of  four  thousand  years  are  speaking  to  the  traveler. 
The  same  Madura  where  we  tarried  for  two  pleasant  days  with  the 
members   of  the  American  Mission  was  the  capital  of  a  kingdom 
powerful  enough  nineteen  hundred  years  ago  to  send  an  embassy  to 
Rome  ;  and  one  further  illustration  may  be  sufficient.      Few  impres- 
sions of  a  marvelously  distant  past  can  be  so  striking  as  that  pro- 
duced by  the  pyramids  of  Egypt,  for  they  seem  from  their  stony  and 
immovable  heights  to  look  down  upon  all  the  centuries  of  history ; 
and  yet  as  that  impression  seized  on  us,  as  it  must  have  seized  on 
every  traveler,  we  were  reminded  that  it.  was  the  steel  of  India  that 
chiseled  the  stones  of  the  pyramids. 

Then,  if  we  turn  to  China,  we  are  in  a  country  which  for  antiq- 
uity and  culture  is  not  second  even  to  India.  We  are  more  familiar 
with  the  opulent  and  splendid  capitals  of  Hindostan  ;  but  I  found 
in  China  towns  that  I  had  scarcely  heard  of,  crowded  with  lines  of 
the  busiest  streets,  and  numbering,  some  of  them,  a  population  of 
almost  a  million.  There  are  said  to  be  thirteen  hundred  walled 
cities  in  China,  one  of  which  (an  example  of  the  rest)  governs 
eight  hundred  and  eighty  villages ;  and,  seven  hundred  miles  off 
the  sea  coast,  there  is  a  city  view  which,  for  extent  and  the  im- 
pressiveness  of  a  vast  population,  surpasses,  I  am  told,  anything 
of  the  kind  in  the  East.  It  may  be  too  much  to  assert  that  there 
are  as  many  of  the  people  in  China  who  can  read  and  write  as 
there  are  at   home,  though  exceptionally  well-informed  people  are 


bold   enough   to  hazard  that   statement;  but   the  Chinese   are  an 
educated  people  and  they  value  education.     They  have  preserved 
what  is  perhaps  unique,  an  unbroken  list  of  their  graduates  for  five 
hundred    years.      Those   who   walk   through   the   corridors   of   the 
Temple  of  Confucius  at  Peking,  may  read,  carved  into  lofty  stone 
slabs,  the  principal  classics  of  their  literature.    They  have  collected 
into  more  than   five  thousand  volumes  a  digest  of  their  published 
books,  ranging  from   the   twelfth  century  to  the  end  of  the  seven- 
teenth, and   a  copy  of  this  Encyclopaedia  is  now  one  of  the  treas- 
ures of  the  British  Museum.     The  writing  on  stone  may  look  like  a 
patient  and  bold  attempt  to  secure  permanence  without  the  aid  of 
printing,  and  was   intended  to  guard  the  purity  of  the  text ;  but 
printing   itself  and  the  use  of  the  mariner's  compass  were  familiar 
in   China  before   they  were   known   in   Europe.     And,  though  the 
Jesuit  astronomers  of  the   seventeenth   century  constructed   astro- 
nomical instruments  that  are  still  one  of  the  wonders  of  the  capi- 
tal, I  was  as  much  struck,  if  not  more,  by  rude,  but  at  the  same 
time   capable   instruments   that  had   been   made   centuries    before 
such   help  came  from  the  West,  and  by  seeing  in  the  hall  of  the 
Imperial  College  a  new  and  powerful  telescope   that  had  just  ar- 
rived from  Paris.     For  this  that  I  have  just  mentioned  is  only  one 
of  many  proofs  that  China  endeavors  to  retain  the  place  she  has 
held  for  over  three  thousand  years  among  the  nations  of  culture. 
It  is  not  a  culture  of  the  past  alone  by  which  one  is  struck.     The 
Egypt  of  the   Pharaohs   has   no   living  links  with  the  Egypt  of  the 
Khedive.     But   the   civilization,  the   literature  and  art  and  science 
of  India  and  China  have  been  continued  in  the  longest  unbroken 
line   of  which  we   have   any  record,    and   the  mind   of  India  and 
China  is  probably  as  vigorous  and  within  its  limits  as  keenly  active 
to-day  as  that  of  any  European  people. 

Then  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  both  these  countries  there 
are  religious  systems  and  a  religious  life  that  are  double  the  age  of 
Christian  England.  Hymns  of  the  Rig  Veda  were  sung  before  the 
birth  of  Moses ;  and  by  the  time  of  the  Judges  the  primitive 
worship  of  the  Hindoo  Aryans  was  already  so  old  that  it  had  de- 
cayed into  Vedantism.  Even  caste  dates  back  to  five  hundred 
years  before  Christ.  Hindoos  and  Buddhists  have  what  are  to  them 
their  sacred  scriptures,  which  have  come  down  from  a  remote  an- 
tiquity, and  to  which  they  appeal  as  the  canonical  authority  of 
their  respective  religions,  and  these  writings  again  are  the  inspira- 
tion of  a  religious  literature,  of  commentary  and  speculation,  of 
ethical  and   metaphysical  books,  a  literature  that  has  its  students 


10 

and  professors  and  a  ramified  influence  among  every  grade  of  the 
population  such  as  we  are  accustomed  to  in  Europe.  There  is 
thus  in  India  an  uninterrupted  chain  of  theological  writings  for 
more  than  three  thousand  years  ;  in  a  monastery  in  China  I  saw  one 
hundred  and  twenty-eight  volumes  of  the  Buddhist  Bible  and  two 
hundred  and  twenty  volumes  of  an  ancient  commentary,  which  is 
almost  as  sacred,  and  which,  we  were  informed,  was  a  fragment 
only  of  the  whole  ;  and  even  in  Japan,  the  voluminous  Kojiki,  or 
standard  book  of  their  religion,  dates  from  the  beginning  of  the 
eighth  century,  although  first  printed  only  in  the  beginning  of  the 
seventeenth.  For  millenniums  these  religions  have  been  molding 
and  guiding  the  thoughts  and  professing  to  satisfy  the  aspirations, 
not  of  savages,  but  of  intelligent  nations.  They  have  been  elastic 
enough  to  yield  without  breaking,  and  rigid  enough  to  resist  all 
serious  innovations  from  without.  They  comprehend  the  highest 
speculations,  and  they  adapt  themselves  to  the  gross  and  ignorant. 
Their  ritual  has  been  associated  with  all  the  joys  and  sorrows  of 
life,  with  its  hopes  and  sins,  and  also  with  the  smallest  acts  of  every 
day.  They  have  penetrated  with  deep  and  fibrous  roots  into  the 
character  of  the  race.  They  have  been  the  chief  element  of  unity 
and  cohesion  in  the  national  life.  They  have  been  guarded  with 
the  most  jealous  reverence.  And  they  have  stood  — at  least  in 
]nf|ja — the  severest  shocks  of  persecution  and  the  strain  of  great 
schisms  that  have  sprung  up  within  their  own  borders. 

Now,  if  I  add  that  such  a  mingled  impression  as  this,  far  from 
changing,  or  losing  its  vividness,  as  first  impressions  often  do,  was 
deepened  at  every  step  of  the  way,  it  will  not  seem  strange  that  I 
give  prominence  to  the  greatness  of  the  enterprise  we  have  under- 
taken. But  there  was  another  impression  left,  just  as  deep,  of  the 
vast  and  beneficent  forces  that  are  at  the  disposal  of  the  Church  of 
Christ.  There  was  not  a  port  where  we  landed,  nor  a  town  where 
we  stayed,  if  it  was  only  for  a  night,  that  we  did  not  find  a  Christian 
missionary  and  that  we  did  not  hear  of  others  far  beyond.  They 
were  often  isolated.  They  were  holding  Christian  outposts  at  an 
enormous  disadvantage  and  against  enormous  odds.  But  it  seemed 
as  if,  wherever  we  might  go,  we  would  find  these  thin  and  broken, 
but  undaunted  lines  of  Christian  chivalry.  We  sometimes  speak  of 
England  as  comprehending  under  its  rule  an  empire  on  which  the 
sun  never  sets  ;  and  the  English  flag,  waving  over  desolate  islands 
and  the  most  remote  and  populous  cities,  its  old  familiar  colors 
coming  into  view  in  places  where  nothing  else  suggests  the  presence 
of  a  strmigej:,  touches  the  most  careless  traveler  with  a  curious  thrill. 


II 


We  felt  we  were  in  the  presence  of  a  far  greater  empire,  an  empire 
whose  ambitions  design  the  conquest  of  the  world  ;  that  wherever 
we  might  penetrate,  some  servant  of  the  Lord  had  gone  before  us. 
We  felt  that  it  lay  with  the  Church  at  home  to  multiply  and  push 
forward  it  forces  where  it  would  ;  that  as  the  banners  of  these 
scattered,  but  invincible  hosts  of  God  were  advanced,  the  ignorance 
and  idol-worship,  the  baseness  of  life  and  thought  would  yield, 
scattering,  like  routed  foes,  to  let  the  light  of  the  love  of  God  en- 
compass all  mankind.  I  could  relate  many  incidents  that  would 
bear  out  this  conviction  of  the  energy  and  adventure  and  ubiquitous- 
ness  of  the  Church,  and  the  glorious  possibilities  that  are  before  her  ; 
but  I  am  anxious  to  answer  at  once  a  question  that  demands  an 
answer — What  impression  have  we  of  the  change  which  these  forces 
have  already  effected  ? 

It  is  important  to  remember  (because  it  will  moderate  over-eager 
and  unreasonable  expectations)  that  the  missions  in  these  countries 
are  not  only  modern,  but  of  comparatively  recent  origin.     For  all 
practical  purposes  the  earlier  and  desultory  attempts  to  spread  the 
Gospel  in  the  East  may  be  left  out  of  view  ;  and  though  the  Romish 
missions  deserve  a  careful  study,  I  must  confine  my  observations 
strictly  to  those  of  Protestant  churches,  and  these,  with  only  an  ex- 
ception or  two,  do  not  date  farther  back  than  the  beginning  of  this 
century.     Moreover,  they  have  not  sprung  full-armed  into  the  con- 
flict, but  have  grown  up  slowly  and  from  slender  beginnings  to  their 
present   equipment  and   strength.      That   early   stage,    when   their 
numbers  were  few,  was  in  every  sense  an  initial  stage.     It  was  the 
time  when  all  the  tools  of  the  missionary  had  to  be  fashioned,  his 
grammars  and  lexicons,  his  knowledge  of  the  people,  his  schools  and 
chapels,  his  translations  of  the  Bible,  and  all  his  methods.  And  even 
now,  after  seventy  years  (a  brief  period  at  the  best),  the  missions, 
notwithstanding   their   expansion,    have    not    at   their    disposal   the 
hundredth  part  of  the  working  help  always  at  the  service  of  the 
Church   at  home.      Bearing  these   considerations   in   mind,    I   can 
frankly  say  that  the  work  already  accomplished  surpassed  my  ex- 
pectations.    There  are  already  (exclusive  of  any  fruit  of  the  Romish 
missions)  about  four  hundred  thousand  persons  connected  with  the 
Christian  Church  in  India,  China,  and  Japan,  connected  with  it  by 
more  or  less  regular  habits  of  public  worship.     There  are,  besides, 
about  two  hundred  thousand  children  receiving  a  Christian  educa- 
tion.    I  make  no  attempt  to  estimate  closely  the  numbers  that  are 
reached  by  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel  or  by  the  Christian  books 
that  are  purchased,  although  they  must  be  very  considerable.     In 


12 

Canton,  for  example,  there  are  nineteen  churches  open  for  preach- 
ing for  some  hours  every  day  on  six  days  of  the  week,  and  it  is  esti- 
mated that  as  many  as  fifty  thousand  persons  hear  the  main  truths 
of  the  Gospel  there  every  month.  In  a  well-known  and  very  bigoted 
town  of  Western  India,  with  about  thirty  thousand  of  a  population, 
I  was  assured  that  through  street-preaching  alone  the  great  majority 
of  the  people  are  familiar  with  the  leading  facts  in  the  life  of  Christ. 
Even  while  we  were  on  our  journey  we  found  accessions  of  large 
bodies  of  persons  to  Christianity  that  had  their  origin  in  a  chance 
sermon  heard,  or  in  the  reading  of  a  Christian  book.  Besides  the 
professed  Christians,  who  number  four  hundred  thousand,  it  might 
be  safe  to  estimate  that  there  are  at  least  a  million  more,  or  a  mil- 
lion and  a  half  in  all  who  more  or  less  directly  come  under  the  in- 
fluence of  the  mission.  You  will  see  that  there  is  already  a  Church 
gathered  in  those  lands,  with  a  larger  membership  than  ours  in  Ire- 
land, that  there  are  three  times  as  many  children  receiving  a  thorough 
knowledge  of  the  Bible  as  there  are  on  the  rolls  of  all  our  Sunday- 
schools,  and  that  as  many  people  attend  Christian  worship  and  hear 
Christian  sermons  as  there  are  on  any  given  Sabbath  in  all  the 
churches  of  Ireland  and  Scotland.  But  the  numbers  show  more. 
The  decennial  returns  prove  that  there  is  a  wonderfully  accelerated 
increase.  Ten  years  now  may  mean  the  gathering  into  the  fold  of 
ten  or  twenty  times  as  many  as  the  same  period  would  have  yielded 
a  quarter  of  a  century  ago.  The  increase  of  this  last  year  alone  in 
India  is  probably  equal  to  the  total  increase  returned  by  the  Alla- 
habad Conference  for  the  ten  years  ending  1871. 

Yet  it  is  not  in  columns  of  figures,  it  is  in  detail  that  the  work  and 
reality  of  the  Mission  are  seen.  When,  for  example,  at  Ningpo,  in 
China,  I  learned  of  a  Conference  of  Christian  workers,  almost  all 
natives,  and  from  one  province,  one  hundred  and  fifty  men  meeting 
for  a  week  in  prayer,  and  with  one  subject  for  their  thoughts  and 
addresses — the  Holy  Ghost ;  or,  when,  farther  down  the  same  coast, 
we  arrived  at  Foochow  only  too  late  to  join  a  Conference  of  two 
hundred  native  helpers,  representing  the  eighty  village  stations  of  a 
single  mission  ;  or,  still  farther  down  the  sea-line,  when  we  traced 
from  the  hill-top  of  Kolansu,  at  Amoy,  and  the  roof  of  the  old 
mission  house  at  Swatow,  the  lines  of  road  that  penetrate  into  the 
interior,  and  heard  how,  along  each,  the  noble  mission  of  the  En- 
glish Presbyterian  Church  has  planted  sturdy  Christian  settlements  ; 
or,  when  we  looked  at  a  map  of  the  region  north  of  the  Yellow  River, 
and  followed  the  finger  of  an  eager  missionary  as  he  pointed  out 
place  after  place,  so  that  from  the  seaboard  for  hundreds  of  miles 


13 

inland,  and  then  northward   toward   the  capital,  the  villages  with 
Christians  in  them  may  soon  be  within  hail  of  each  other ;  it  was 
when  I  saw  the  well-manned  and  well-attended  theological  colleges 
that  have  sprung  up,  not  only  in  China,  but  in  the  very  priestly 
heart  of  Japan,  in  a  city  where  ten  years  ago  foreigners  could  only 
be  smuggled  in  by  stealth ;  when  I  listened  to  sermons  preached  by 
native  ministers  to  large  native  congregations,  and  found  them  so 
Scriptural,  thoughtful,  and  eloquent  as  to  place  them  on  a  level 
with  our  best  sermons  at  home  ;  and  then,  when  in  India,  we  passed 
through  Travancore  and  Tinnevelly,  and  found  Christian  congrega- 
tions and  houses  of  worship  dotted   so   thickly  over  the   extreme 
south  of  that  country  that  one  was  often  not  more  than  a  few  miles 
from  the  other;    Sunday-school  children   marching  in   procession 
from  various  points  to  some  central  service  ;  native  Christians  who 
were  not  only  practical  disciples  of  systematic  beneficence,  giving  a 
tenth,  and  more  than  a  tenth,  of  their  earnings  to  Christian  work 
(and  the  more  they  had  the  more  they  gave),  but  doing  work  them- 
selves as  well  as  furnishing  the  means  to  others  ;  young  men  giving 
up  every  week,  one  and  sometimes  two  days  of  their  working  time,  and 
therefore,  of  their  income,  that  they  might  go  and  preach  Christ  in  the 
districts  round  ;  and  villages  where  three  and  four,  and  even  seven 
hundred  of  the  families  are  Christian  ;  when  I  preached  in  a  stately 
church  on  a  week  evening  to  a  congregation  of  perhaps  fourteen  or 
fifteen  hundred,  and  learned  that  the  foundation  of  this  building  had 
been  laid  by  a  man  of  faith  nearly  forty  years  ago,  when  there  were 
only  seven  converts ;  when  in  another  part  of  the  country  and  many 
hundred  miles  away  from  this,  we  found  in  the  dense,  but  not  un- 
populous  jungle  land  a  Christian  community  that,  in  less  than  thirty 
years,  has  swelled  from  five  persons  up  to  forty  thousand,  and  is  now 
increasing  by  more  than  four  thousand  a  year  ;  when  we  saw  in  one 
town  there,  two  large,  and,  indeed,  cathedral-like  churches,  built  by 
these  once  rude  people,  and  filled  on  the  Sabbath  day  with  over- 
flowing congregations;  when,  whatever  route  we  took,  we  were  sure 
to  hear  of  the  growth  of  some  Christian   settlement;  when,  having 
spoken  at  midnight  to  some  Christians  at  Cape  Comorin,  the  waves 
at  our  feet  breaking  on  one  of  the  most  sacred  temple  sites  in  India, 
I  found  myself  afterward  addressing  a  native  congregation  just  at 
the  foot  of  the  Himalayas  that  rlung  their  shadows  on  the  village 
street— it  was  then  that  I  began  to  realize  the  work  that  the  Mission 
has  accomplished  already  and  the  vast  possibilities  that  lie  before  it 
in  the  immediate  future,  the  possibilities  of  faith  which  are  not  to 
be  reckoned  as  the  dreams  of  an  enthusiast,  but  as  the  actual  and 
divinely  promised  inheritance  of  a  believing  Church. 


H 

Why,  sir,  let  us  look  at  our  own  missions.  It  is  only  thirty-seven 
years  since  we  broke  ground  in  Kattiawar,  and  thirty-seven  years 
are  a  short  time  in  a  work  so  gigantic  as  the  conversion  of  India. 
It  is  true  that,  by  a  happy  arrangement,  we  entered  in  Gujarat  on 
the  field  of  another  Society  ;  yet  at  that  time  the  fruit  of  the  self- 
denying  labors  of  the  London  missionaries  had  only  begun  to  form. 
Some  of  the  first  missionaries  who  went  from  us  are  spared  to  be 
here  to  night,  and  one  of  them,  full  of  the  most  loving  and  gentle 
service,  has  only  recently  passed  away.  But  in  what  position  are 
we  to-day?  We  have  nine  churches,  and  are  prepared  to  build 
others  as  soon  as  sites  can  be  procured.  We  have  large  vernacular 
schools  in  every  town  we  occupy,  and  two  admirably-equipped  high- 
schools  in  the  principal  cities  of  the  district.  We  hold  fifteen  hun- 
dred acres  of  land,  on  part  of  which  prosperous  Christian  villages 
have  been  settled,  and  other  settlements  are  preparing.  We  have 
more  than  seventeen  hundred  persons  connected  with  the  native 
Church.  We  have  the  beginning  of  what  will  yet  become  one  of 
the  great  forces  of  our  mission,  the  work  among  the  native  women. 
We  have,  in  fact,  all  that  you  find  in  the  suggestive  Report  that  is 
presented  to-night.  But  if  I  could  I  would  like  to  convey  to  you 
what  lies  below  these  facts,  the  impressions  left  upon  us  as  we  visited 
that  region.  It  was  when  I  found  the  deep  affection  of  the  people, 
their  loyal  and  tender  gratitude  to  our  Church  here — a  gratitude 
that  I  was  charged  over  and  over  again  to  convey  to  you  (and  I 
now  lay  upon  the  table  one  expression  of  it  in  a  formal  letter  from 
the  Church  of  Surat  to  our  General  Assembly) — when  we  were 
taken  altogether  by  surprise  by  the  triumphal  arches  and  multitude 
of  mottoes,  the  flags  and  decorations,  the  processions  of  Christians 
that  met  us  as  we  drew  near  with  addresses  and  hymns  of  welcome, 
the  illuminations,  and  even  the  fireworks  (and  it  was  wonderfully 
touching  to  see  in  front  of  the  poorest  native  hut  some  word  of 
greeting,  and  wild  flowers  hung  round  it,  though  they  withered  in  the 
hot  sun)  ;  when  we  had  garlands  of  roses  placed  about  our  necks 
and  rockets  exploded  at  our  feet  and  the  wild  music  of  unearthly 
horns  filling  all  the  air;  when  on  every  side  I  found  traces  of  the 
unwearied  zeal  of  our  missionaries  and  of  their  abundant  and  varied 
gifts,  and  on  every  hand  heard  the  good  they  did  acknowledged  with 
a  ready  mind,  and  by  none  more  readily  than  by  native  gentlemen  of 
education  and  often  of  very  high  position  ;  when  I  witnessed  such  in- 
cidents as  the  impulsive  liberality  of  the  Christians  at  Shahawadi,  of 
which  you  may  have  read  in  the  Missionary  Herald ;  when  I  saw 
the  pleasant  churches  peeping  out  among  the  trees  ;   when  I  found 


is 

them  crowded  to  the  door  with  throngs  of  worshipers  ;  when  in 
passing  from  Station  to  Station  I  had  the  blessed  privilege  of  bap- 
tizing more  persons  than  former  missionaries  may  have  baptized  in 
all  their  years  of  labor ;  when  I  heard  the  native  preachers  and  saw 
how  the  people  were  swayed  by  their  sermons  ;  when,  not  only  in 
the  school-buildings  at  Surat  and  Ahmedabad,  but  at  the  annual 
prize-giving  in  the  latter  place  (where  I  had  the  good  fortune  to  pre- 
side, and  where  the  large  common  hall  had  to  be  filled  twice  over, 
once  with  the  older  and  again  with  the  younger  scholars)  I  saw  the 
fine  intelligent  faces,  and  how  the  highest  castes  and  the  low  castes 
learned  there  together  and  how  well  they  knew  our  Scriptures ;  when 
I  talked  with  aged  Christians  and  noticed  the  fullness  of  their  joy 
over  the  harvest  of  which  they  were  the  first  fruits — it  was  then  that 
I  felt  the  honor  God  had  put  upon  us  as  a  missionary  Church,  and 
the  strength  of  the  hold  with  which  the  Gospel  has  already  taken 
possession  ;  and  I  heard  a  voice  that  spoke  through  it  all,  and  what 
it  said  I  say  to  you  now,  Go  ye  up  and  possess  the  land  which  the 
Lord  your  God  giveth  you. 

But  while  I  have  tried  to  say  what  I  have  deeply  felt,  there  is 
another  way  of  looking  at  the  figures  and  statistics  of  the  Mission. 
Place  them  beside  the  huge  populations  of  which  we  have  been 
thinking  of  to-night  and  I  confess  they  will  seem  so  small  as  prob- 
ably to  be  disheartening.  There  is  only  a  slight  fringe  of  stations 
along  the  shores  and  up  a  few  of  the  rivers  of  China  and  Japan,  and 
a  closer  fringe  along  the  endless  miles  of  Indian  coast  and  along  a 
few  of  its  interior  roads.  At  the  same  rate  at  which  the  population 
of  China  would  march  past  in  twenty-three  years  the  Christian  pop- 
ulation would  march  in  fewer  hours.  There  are  areas  in  India 
larger  than  France  without  a  native  Christian  ;  and  if  we  take  all 
the  Christians  away  it  would  not  make  one-sixth  the  difference 
caused  by  the  losses  of  the  single  famine  of  last  year.  It  must  be 
remembered,  also,  that  the  numbers  of  Christians  I  have  mentioned 
might,  by  themselves,  give  a  very  exaggerated  notion  of  the  spread 
of  Christianity.  These  large  numbers  in  India  are  mainly  among 
the  less  Hindooized  part  of  the  population.  There  are  probably 
fifteen  milions  of  people  that  belong  to  those  non-Aryan  and  abo- 
riginal tribes  where,  for  the  present,  the  numerical  results  are  the 
largest,  and  even  if  these  were  ail  Christians  we  might  not  be  much 
nearer  to  having  India  Christianized.  They  would  not  directly 
affect  the  thought  or  change  the  currents  of  Hindooism.  A  few 
men  of  high  caste  and  good  station  (and  the  native  church  can  show 
many  such)  may,  when  won   to  Christ,  exercise  a  more  immediate 


i6 

influence  on  their  country,  than  converts  that  are  reckoned  by  thou- 
sands. If  this  be  taken  into  account,  the  show  of  numbers  will 
look  even  poorer  than  at  first.  We  may,  of  course,  fall  back  on  our 
conviction  that  the  Christian  religion,  unlike  any  of  the  religions 
which  it  seeks  to  displace,  is  that  which  God  has  Himself  revealed  ; 
that  it  carries  with  it  a  divine  energy ;  that  when  it  has  effected  a 
lodgment  in  a  country,  its  forces  are  not  to  be  measured  by  its  small 
beginning  ;  that  it  is  the  mighty  leaven  that  can  ultimately  leaven 
the  whole  lump.  We  may  console  ourselves  by  this  faith  for  the 
sense  of  disappointment  that  we  feel.  But  before  we  feel  disap- 
pointed, let  us  be  sure  that  we  are  taking  everything  into  account. 
These  numbers  represent  only  the  direct  results  of  Missions;  and 
those  that  are  indirect,  and  that  it  is  impossible  to  seize  and  present 
to  the  eye  in  figures,  are  of  a  far  larger  and  more  potential  kind. 
If  we  were  to  judge  Missions  by  their  direct  results  alone,  we  should 
judge  them  unfairly. 

Every  missionary  sets  in  motion  currents  of  influence  which  he 
can  not  trace.  They  pass  beyond  the  limit  of  his  observation  ; 
they  very  probably  mingle  with  other  currents  that  have  had  a 
similar  origin  ;  and  while  he  may  be  cast  down  by  the  want  of  any 
particular  good  result  that  he  can  see,  he  may  have  contributed 
powerfully  to  that  larger  change  by  which  the  land  is  being  pre- 
pared for  Christ.  These  indirect  results  are  so  striking  that  my 
chief  anxiety  is  to  avoid  exaggeration,  and  therefore  misstatement. 
I  may  not  be  altogether  able.  It  is  difficult  to  state  the  exact  im- 
pression left  upon  the  mind  on  the  spot  without  sometimes  leading 
those  at  a  distance  to  entertain  unfounded  hopes.  Missionaries  do 
not  exaggerate.  As  a  class,  I  have  found  them  singularly  honest 
and  fair,  and  with  a  morbid  dread  of  encouraging  expectations  that 
are  not  justified.  But  the  impatience  of  the  Church  at  home  is  apt 
to  exaggerate  and  to  induce  men  to  rush  to  favorable  conclusions 
without  any  provocation.  We  hasten  to  believe  what  we  would 
like  to  be  true.  We  take  a  single  fact  to  mean  a  popular  revolu- 
tion. Now  I  know  how  much  the  Mission  suffers  from  this  habit, 
how  much  and  how  unfairly  expectations  are  apt  to  be  cherished 
that  have  a  buoyancy  inconsistent  with  fact  ;  and,  when  they  are 
disappointed,  the  Church  is  apt  to  feel  troubled  and  to  relax  in  her 
efforts.  Let  us  balance  our  sanguine  impressions  by  weighing  more 
carefully  the  enormous  magnitude  and  enormous  difficulties  of  the 
enterprise. 

Take  Japan  :  the  new  culture  and  the  rapid  changes  which  are 
spreading  there  are  all  in  favor  of  Christianity.      It  is  not  merely 


i7 

that  there  are  railways  and  telegraphs,  that  there  are  as  many  cabs 
in  the  cities  as  in  London  (though  men  take  the  place  of  horses)  ; 
that  there  are  wide  streets,  frequent  letter-boxes,  post  cards,  red 
mail  carts  hurrying  to  the  railway  station,  few  soldiers  and  ubiqui- 
tous policemen  ;  that  there  are  Japanese  gun-boats  and  a  Japanese 
mint  and  Japanese  bank  notes  and  Japanese  art  exhibitions  and 
Japanese  lines  of  steamers  plowing  their  island  seas.  It  is  not 
merely  that  the  ancient  feudal  chieftains  have  been  overthrown,  and 
their  clansmen  and  retainers  dispersed.  It  is  not  even  that  there 
is  a  strangely  rapid  growth  of  the  native  press  ;  for  I  have  just 
received  an  official  return  from  which  it  appears  that  six  of  the 
daily  papers  of  the  capital  have  a  joint  circulation  of  over  nine 
hundred  thousand  copies  a  month.  The  education  of  the  people 
is  absorbing  the  attention  of  the  Government,  and  those  who  mainly 
advise  them  in  this  matter  are  Christian  men,  foreigners  who  have 
entered  their  service  and  are  professors  in  their  colleges.  They 
send  numbers  of  their  most  promising  scholars  to  Europe,  where 
they  carry  off  the  honors  in  our  universities  and  where  they  come 
in  contact  with  Christian  thought  and  Christian  institutions.  Even 
in  their  own  country  I  found  a  Government  school  where  there  was 
a  staff  of  professors  giving  a  complete  education  through  five  lan- 
guages to  five  different  groups  of  students  ;  one  group  learning 
everything  in  English,  another  in  German,  another  in  French,  an- 
other in  Chinese,  and  another  in  the  vernacular.  The  old  Buddh- 
istic school-books  and  reading-books  are  disappearing,  and  a 
literature  that  has  been  largely  borrowed  from  Christian  lands  is 
taking  their  place.  The  languages  and  institutions  and  the  material 
progress  of  Europe  and  America  are  those  that  are  the  most  studied, 
and  that  are  regarded  with  the  most  respect  and  all  but  homage  ; 
and  should  this  revolution  go  forward  it  would  not  be  possible  to 
limit  the  area  of  healthy  change. 

All  over  China  there  are  indications  that  the  ancient  seclusion 
is  breaking  up,  and  that  new  and  enlarged  ideas  are  contending  for 
power.  There  are  scientific  and  popular  magazines  in  Chinese, 
edited  by  foreign  Christians,  and  with  a  fair  circulation  among  the 
governing  and  better  educated  class.  When  in  Peking,  I  was  shown 
an  early  copy  of  a  native  work  on  political  geography  that  has 
since  been  published,  and  that  will  be  read  by  the  leading  men  of 
the  country  ;  and  although  containing  many  errors,  yet  it  professes 
to  give  an  account  of  those  foreign  nations  that  have  been  hitherto 
ignored,  and  to  bring  down  their  history  in  France  as  late  as  to 
the  Marshal  President  and   in  England  to  the  visit  of  the  Prince  of 


i8 

Wales  to  India;  the  writer  even  tries  to  describe  the  religion  of 
Europe,  and  he  never  styles  foreigners  either  barbarians  or  devils. 
China,  like  Japan,  is  trying  the  experiment  of  a  foreign  education 
on  certain  picked  men  of  her  youth  ;  and  when,  on  their  return, 
they  take  the  places  of  trust  which  are  intended  for  them,  there  will 
be  a  new  and  powerful  element  of  change.  Many  of  the  trading 
steamers  and  business  houses  are  falling  into  Chinese  hands,  and  it 
is  the  head  of  a  purely  Chinese  company  that  has  made  it  a  rule  of 
their  steamers  to  carry  missionaries  at  two-thirds  fare. 

But  it  is  in  India  that  the  change  is  most  noticeable.  It  is  no 
longer  the  India  of  Clive  or  of  Wellesley.  Those  old  things  have 
passed  away.  "  The  rising  generation  of  Hindoos  has  almost  for- 
gotten that  suttee,  Thuggism,  female  infanticide,  and  human  sacri- 
fice were  once  parts  of  their  religion  ;  they  begin  to  speak  of  them 
with  scarcely  less  horror  than  we."  In  some  respects  the  India  of 
to-day  is  not  even  the  India  of  Norman  Macleod,  an  India  that 
he  did  more  than  most  men,  not  Anglo-Indians  themselves,  to  bring 
home  to  the  conscience  of  the  Christian  Church,  and  certainly  no 
book  that  I  have  read  seems  to  be,  when  tested  on  the  spot,  so 
absolutely  and  vividly  truthful  as  that  which  he  wrote  on  his  return. 
Native  society  in  very  many  of  the  towns  is  hardly  the  same  thing 
that  it  was  a  few  years  ago.  The  prejudices  and  bigotry  are  modi- 
fied by  a  thousand  influences.  In  the  sacred  city  of  the  West  where 
a  missionary  was  stoned  twenty  years  ago  for  daring  to  cross  the 
sacred  river,  there  is  now  almost  daily  open-air  preaching  by 
that  river's  bank.  One  of  the  largest  and  best  schools  I  saw  in 
India  was  in  a  native  State  ;  yet  the  Bible  was  taught  in  it  every 
day,  and  the  necessary  copies  were  furnished  by  the  Maharajah.  A 
native  prince  in  that  State  contributes  to  the  Calcutta  Review  and 
lectures  to  Young  Men's  Associations  ;  and  the  Maharajah  has 
declared  it  to  be  his  cherished  aim  "to  provide  for  every  subject, 
within  a  couple  of  hours'  journey,  the  advantages  of  a  doctor,  a 
schoolmaster,  a  judge,  a  magistrate,  a  registry  office,  and  a  post- 
master." The  chimney-stalks  of  great  factories  make  some  quarters 
of  cities  like  Bombay  look  as  homely  as  Liverpool,  or  Belfast,  or 
Dundee  ;  I  have  attended  a  crowded  public  meeting  in  one  of  the 
Presidency  capitals,  a  meeting  strictly  of  natives  and  to  discuss  a 
purely  native  question,  and  with  the  exception  of  some  of  the  letters 
read  by  the  secretary,  all  the  proceedings  were  in  excellent  English  ; 
and,  aided  by  English  alone,  it  would  be  possible  to  converse  with 
well-informed  and  educated  gentlemen  in  every  province.  The 
literature  and  culture  of    the  West,  that  have  been    molded  into 


*9 

what  they  are  by  Christianity,  have  made  for  themselves  broad 
channels  at  least  on  the  surface  of  Hindoo  life,  and  along  these 
channels  new  thoughts  are  swept  by  the  increasing  current,  not 
merely  into  the  larger  cities,  but  to  remote  villages  over  the  country. 
A  skepticism  of  the  present  Hindoo  idolatry  and  a  shame  of  it  are 
spreading  farther  every  year,  and  there  is  scarcely  a  Hindoo  student 
that  does  not  disparage  and  recoil  from  caste.  Every  missionary 
finds  that  the  questions  put  to  the  preacher  on  the  streets  are  no 
longer  what  they  were  :  that  they  express  doubts  of  Christianity 
while  formerly  they  were  angry  assertions  of  pagan  mythology. 
When  we  were  worshiping  at  Neriad  (which  is  an  average  speci- 
men of  a  well-to-do  country  town)  with  a  congregation  largely  com- 
posed of  Dherds,  some  Hindoo  gentlemen  entered  the  church  and 
stayed  for  the  service,  though  the  touch  of  a  Dherd  should  be  pollu- 
tion. "  We  younger  men  do  not  much  mind  caste  rules  ;  not  more 
than  we  can  help,"  a  young  man  said  to  me,  and  he  was  only  a  type 
of  hundreds  more;  "Those  who  learn  English,"  he  continued,  "  do 
not  believe  in  idols."  The  head  of  a  native  college  said  one  day, 
"  I  believe  that  every  one  of  our  students  who  leaves  us  knowing 
English  has  ceased  to  believe  in  popular  Hindooism."  "  How 
many  educated  young  men  believe  in  the  Shastras  ?"  was  the  ques- 
tion recently  addressed  to  the  sludents  in  a  Calcutta  college. 
Promptly  there  were  two  answers — "Not  one  in  a  hundred,"  and 
"Not  one  in  a  thousand,"  and  the  rest  assented.  Beyond  those 
who  carelessly  adopt  the  lower  forms  of  the  skepticism  they  have 
borrowed  from  Europe  there  are  few  men  of  intelligence  and  culture 
who  will  abuse  Christianity,  or  even  disparage  the  earnestness  of  the 
missionaries  and  their  influence  for  good,  though  they  may  say  that 
missions  will  never  alter  the  religion  of  India,  and  though  they 
would  almost  scorn  to  become  Christians  themselves. 

Now,  to  what  is  all  this  owing  ?  Largely,  no  doubt,  to  contact 
with  Western  nations,  the  nations  that  have  advanced  the  farthest 
on  the  paths  of  civilized  life.  The  influence  of  commerce,  the  in- 
fluence of  roads  and  railways  and  such  great  industries  as  have  been 
built  up  at  home,  is  enormous.  No  doubt,  also  in  India,  it  is  owing 
to  the  influence  of  a  strong  and  righteous  Government.  A  Govern- 
ment that  covers  India  with  its  public  works  and  that  spends  a  mil- 
lion of  pounds  a  year  in  the  education  of  a  million  and  a  half  of 
children,  must  be  influencing  the  life  of  the  country  in  a  very  dis- 
tinct and  remarkable  way.  But  when  due  allowance  has  been  made 
for  such  agencies  as  these,  there  remains  one  greater  than  them  all. 
There  is  a  dark  as  well  as  a  bright  side  to  the  influence  of  com- 


20 

merce.  Any  one  who  has  visited  a  seaport  in  the  East  must  ac- 
knowledge that  commerce  is  a  very  checkered  good,  bringing  much 
evil  in  its  train  ;  and  the  excellency  of  our  rule  has  not  saved  us 
from  such  a  scandal  as  the  opium  trade,  a  scandal  that  is  flung 
against  us  by  all  that  is  best  in  Chinese  society  with  as  much  earnest- 
ness as  we  would  feel  if  some  foreign  power  forced  us  to  open  our 
land  to  a  flood  of  the  intemperance  we  are  seeking  to  cast  out. 
Moreover,  though  commerce  has  done  much  for  us  as  a  race,  and 
though  we  are  sanguine  that  through  us  it  will  also  benefit  the  races 
with  which  we  trade,  we  of  Great  Britain  have  surely  some  nobler 
office  to  the  East  than  to  find  a  market  for  our  products,  or  even  to 
link  populous  cities  by  the  bridge  of  the  iron  rail.  "  I  should  feel 
shame  for  my  country,"  I  heard  one  say,  whose  repute  as  a  states- 
man is  familiar  in  those  distant  lands,  "if  she  did  not  recognize  some 
higher  mission  to  these  races  than  the  extension  of  her  trade." 

The  missionary  represents  quite  other  forces.  He  represents  the 
civilization  and  the  righteous  laws  and  moral  elevation  of  the  country 
from  which  he  comes  ;  but  he  represents  the  far  higher  forces  that 
have  made  these  countries  what  they  are.  For  the  ships  that  trade 
in  the  East,  the  English,  American,  and  German  ships,  represent  the 
enterprise  of  Christian  nations  ;  the  just  rule  that  maintains  order 
in  India  is  the  rule  of  Christian  England.  It  is  these  Christian 
forces  with  which  the  missionary  is  identified,  and  which  he  seeks  to 
set  in  motion.  Every  missionary  settlement  is,  in  this  light,  the 
center  of  intellectual  activity,  of  righteousness,  and  love.  Almost 
all  projects  of  usefulness  affecting  the  religious,  intellectual,  and 
temporal  welfare  of  the  people  have  originated  with  the  missionaries. 
They  fought  in  India  the  battle  first  of  male  and  then  of  female 
education.  Their  practical  teaching  has  loosened  the  bonds  of 
caste.  If  there  are  now  everywhere,  at  least  some  men  who  are 
trained  in  European  thought,  if  there  is  a  larger  knowledge,  if  we 
meet  with  the  striving  for  a  higher  life,  it  is  mainly  due  to  the  in- 
fluence of  the  Mission.  And,  if  nothing  else  had  been  done  than  to 
place  our  Scriptures  within  reach  of  the  people  in  their  own  vernac- 
ulars, then,  independent  of  all  direct  spiritual  gain,  and  thinking 
only  of  the  mighty  impulse  which  was  given  to  Europe  when,  at  the 
Reformation,  the  Word  of  God  was  unbound  and  set  free  to  touch 
the  people  of  every  class,  of  the  thoughts  it  kindled  and  the  litera- 
ture it  may  almost  be  said  to  have  created — if  nothing  else  than  this 
had  been  effected  by  the  missionaries,  what  more  comprehensive  or 
potent  agency  could  they  have  set  in  motion,  or  so  likely  to  account 
for  that  waking  from  a  long  sleep  that  is  found  over  all  the  East  to- 


21 

day  ?  It  is  in  these  far-reaching  influences,  which  are  all  the  while 
preparing  new  conditions  among  the  people  for  the  preaching  and 
reception  of  the  Gospel,  that  we  find  ourselves  facing  the  future  and 
the  work  of  the  future,  and  one  of  the  impressions  left  has  certainly 
been  encouragement  to  go  on,  and  along  with  this  the  dread  that  the 
Church  may  be  so  taken  by  surprise  through  the  sudden  openings 
she  will  gain  that  she  will  be  unprepared  to  avail  herself  of  them  in 
any  worthy  spirit. 

Over  all  the  area  that  we  traversed,  it  may  be  said  broadly  that 
the  missionary  has  perfect  liberty  of  movement.  It  is  true  that,  in 
Japan,  there  are  limitations  to  the  foreign  settlements,  and  that  re- 
strictions are  placed  upon  even  the  passports  that  allow  a  wider 
travel.  But  practically,  either  by  foreign  or  native  agencies,  the 
Gospel  may  be  carried  into  any  part  of  these  lands,  and  in  China, 
the  Government,  and  in  India  even  the  native  States  will  care  for 
the  protection  of  the  missionary.  The  first  rough  work  of  making 
grammars  and  dictionaries,  preparing  school  books,  and  the  great 
work  of  translating  the  Bible  are  over  (though,  of  course,  there  will 
remain  for  years  to  come  the  work  of  improvement  and  enlargement), 
and  the  missionary  who  goes  out  now  has  an  immense  advan- 
tage over  the  pioneer.  Then  there  is,  over  most  of  these  countries, 
an  evident  decay  of  religious  life.  In  Japan  the  Government,  with- 
out remonstrance,  seizes  the  houses  of  the  priests  for  hospitals  and 
the  temples  for  barracks  ;  and  temple  bells  are  freely  bought  for  the 
European  market.  In  a  cathedral  town  we  visited  an  exhibition  of 
antiquities  (to  which  there  was  an  admission  fee)  within  the  temple, 
and  directly  behind  the  altar  ;  and  the  only  link  now  between  religion 
and  the  State  is  the  right  that  the  priests  claim  to  bury  all  the  dead. 
In  China  1  found  the  priest  lighting  his  pipe  at  the  altar  candle 
while  a  few  worshipers  were  kneeling  on  the  floor.  You  may  handle 
with  what  indignity  you  please  the  ugly  dolls  they  idolize,  for  clergy 
and  people  will  only  smile  ;  and  the  opium-smoker  will  lie  in  his 
stupor  prostrate  upon  the  figures  of  the  doomed  in  the  temple  of  the 
Ten  Hells.  In  India,  as  in  China,  the  temples  are  falling  into 
decay  ;  there  are  thinner  streams  of  pilgrims  to  the  holy  places  ;  and 
the  legends  of  the  gods  are  met  with  open  laughter  in  the  public 
streets.  The  want  of  reverence  and  the  decline  of  worship  continu- 
ally obtrude.  There  are  in  our  island  traces  of  vast  coal  fields  off 
which  the  coal  has  been  degraded  by  some  ancient  convulsion  ;  and 
the  religious  life  seems  to  be  fast  wearing  out  of  these  ancient  lands 
and  leaving  little  more  than  a  record  of  the  time  when  it  was  all- 
powerful. 


22 

I  have  given  but  a  very  imperfect  outline  of  the  picture  which  has 
been  left  upon  my  mind  of  the  condition  of  Christian  missions  in 
those  parts  of  the  East  that  we  were  able  to  visit ;  and  I  fear  so 
imperfect  and  fragmentary  that  it  must  be  confused.  But  I  dare 
not  tax  your  kindly  patience  any  further  than  to  ask  you  to  weigh 
calmly  what  part  we,  of  our  Church,  are  prepared  to  take.  In 
pleading  for  the  Foreign  Mission,  it  is  not  to  draw  your  attention 
from  the  other  mission-work  of  the  Church.  Even  in  the  interests 
of  this  vast  undertaking  it  is  essential  that  we  should  begin  at  home. 
Just  in  proportion  as  the  life  of  the  Church  among  us  is  not  being 
purified,  and  touched  by  spiritual  fervors,  we  shall  fail  to  influence 
the  world  beyond.  There  are  missionaries  that  go  out  from  us  other 
than  those  whom  we  ordain.  For  every  one  that  is  set  apart  by  the 
Church  there  are  hundreds  of  men  and  women  who  leave  our  homes 
for  the  East,  and  when  these  carry  with  them  the  aims  and  habits  of 
a  holy  life,  the  greatest  of  all  conquests  will  draw  nigh.  There  is  no 
opposition  between  our  missions,  no  room  for  any  anxious  or  jealous 
rivalry.  And  if  there  is  one  mission  which  comes  first,  it  is  surely 
that  at  home,  that  which  lies  among  our  own  neighbors,  and  in  our 
own  land.  It  is  that  which  is  peculiarly  the  work  that  God  has 
given  us,  and  from  which  nothing  must  distract  us  until  the  simple 
truth  of  God  is  as  free  and  as  well  known  in  one  part  of  the  island 
as  in  another.  There  is  the  pressing  need  of  the  sustentation  of 
our  ministry  and  the  endowment  of  our  colleges,  our  zeal  for  the 
lost  sheep  of  the  house  of  Israel,  our  loving  care  for  those  that  have 
gone  out  from  us  to  swell  and  found  new  churches  in  the  colonies, 
our  sympathy  for  those  who,  at  many  points  of  the  continent,  are 
engaged  in  a  struggle  that  we,  of  all  others,  should  help,  because 
we  know  it.  These  are  of  the  most  vital  importance.  It  is  the 
heart  of  the  Church  that  must  be  touched,  and  when  the  heart  is 
renewed  and  quickened,  all  will  benefit  and  the  strength  of  the  pulse 
be  felt  in  every  mission.  To  sustain  one  work  at  the  cost  of  an- 
other would  be  no  real  strength  to  that  work  and  no  real  gain  to 
the  Chinch.  Each  mission  has  its  own  individuality,  and  it  must 
have  its  own  place  in  the  affections  of  our  people  ;  but  all  our  mis- 
sions are  the  one  house  of  Christian  service,  and  if,  by  our  appeals, 
we  were  to  divide  one  from  another,  the  house  would  not  stand. 

Sir,  I  do  not  value  the  sentimental  sympathy  that  is  produced  by 
a  distant  land  and  a  dark  face.  H  this  noble  mission  to  the  heathen 
is  to  be  worthily  carried  on,  it  will  only  be  when  the  roots  of  our 
sympathy  sink  down  into  principle,  into  faith  and  love.  Let  there 
be  no  gift  withdrawn,  no  look  or  prayer  withheld  from   the  great 


23 

mission  at  our  doors  and  the  other  missions  God  has  given  us  be- 
yond. But  what  I  must  try  to  say  to-night  is  this,  that  I  have 
carried  away  a  sad  impression,  an  impression  of  a  multiplied  and 
weary  sadness  that  the  mission  is  undermanned.  It  is  a  melancholy 
story,  a  story  of  painful  and  disheartening  details.  Brave  and  loving 
men  seize  their  opportunities,  and  a  good  work  is  done  ;  then  one  of 
them  falls  a  victim  to  overwork,  the  place  is  left  vacant,  but  those  that 
are  left  appeal  for  help  and  try  to  stretch  their  thin  ranks  until  they 
meet  again.  The  work  spreads,  for  God  blesses  it,  and  there  is  more 
need  to  draw  upon  the  sympathy  and  Christ-like  love  of  those  at 
home.  They  appeal  for  help  again,  and,  meanwhile,  out  of  their  own 
substance  (never  abundant)  they  supply  what  is  wanted.  After  long 
and  anxious  waiting  the  news  comes  that  no  help  can  be  sent  at 
present,  that  the  funds  will  not  allow  it,  that  men  are  wanted  else- 
where. And  then  the  missionaries  that  are  left,  denying  themselves  to 
the  utmost,  toiling  in  illness  as  others  might  toil  in  health,  seeing 
the  opportunities  reach  out  on  every  side  and  obliged  to  pass  them 
by  with  a  drooping  spirit,  and  scarcely  able  to  resist  the  benumbing 
sense  of  desertion  that  creeps  over  them,  still  look  wistfully  toward 
the  old  Church  at  home.  My  brethren,  if  you  saw  that,  once  (and 
I  have  seen  it  many  times  till  I  was  weary  at  heart),  you  would  do 
your  best  not  to  let  it  be  again.  I  have  known  of  three  new  sta- 
tions that  were  formed  during  the  furlough  of  a  missionary,  and 
when  he  came  back  to  be  met  by  this  great  joy,  his  first  exclama- 
tion was.  "  Where  shall  I  find  the  money  to  support  them  ?  "  It  was 
a  bitter  cry  ;  it  must  have  taken  many  a  disappointment  to  wring  it 
from  a  man's  heart ;  but  it  is  a  cry  that  enters  the  ear  of  the  Lord 
of  the  harvest  while  we  sit  at  home  at  ease.  Now,  our  own  mis- 
sions are  undermanned  ;  and  I  suppose  we  would  at  present  be 
afraid  to  send  men,  if  even  they  were  ready,  because  we  may  say, 
Where  shall  I  find  the  money  to  support  them  ?  A  post  or  two  in 
a  province  and  a  man  or  two  at  a  post,  that  is  not  the  way  for  the 
Church  of  Christ  to  wage  this  gigantic,  but  holy  war. 

A  missionary  told  me  once  that  when,  in  the  last  Chinese  war, 
our  troops  marched  up  from  Taku,  by  some  accident  a  corporal  and 
five  privates  were  left  behind.  They  resolved  to  march  by  them- 
selves, and  pushed  their  way  till  the  misty  drifts  swept  down,  and  at 
nightfall,  bewildered  and  lost,  they  found  themselves  before  an 
earthen  rampart.  They  could  not  tell  what  troops,  whether  En- 
glish or  Chinese,  were  behind  ;  but,  with  English  pluck,  they  scaled 
the  wall,  and  determined  to  hold  their  position  till  the  morning.  All 
through  that  long  night  they  peered  into  the  darkness,  and  though 


24 

they  sometimes  discovered  the  glimmer  of  a  light,  they  could  not 
tell  if  it  betokened  friend  or  foe.  At  last,  in  the  gray  dawn  of  the 
morning,  as  they  grasped  their  rifles  closer,  they  saw  the  flag  of  En- 
gland. The  fort  had  been  evacuated,  and  was  now  in  English 
hands.  There  was  no  intention  that  these  men  should  march  up  in 
that  solitary  ignorance  ;  and,  had  Chinese  soldiers  held  the  fort,  our 
soldiers  would  have  fallen  into  a  trap.  Bat  what  shall  we  think  of 
the  Churches  sending  out  of  purpose  their  little  bands  of  mission- 
aries, bodies  of  two  and  three,  so  small  and  far  apart  that  they  can 
not  see  the  main  body  of  the  army  ?  They  go  on  through  the 
enemy's  country  (for  your  missionaries  are  brave  and  steadfast 
men),  and  they  seize  a  stronghold.  Then,  through  the  shadows  of 
the  pagan  night,  and  the  dim  breaking  of  the  Christian  dawn,  they 
look  out  to  see  some  friendly  flag.  "  Hold  the  fort,"  we  say  at 
home  ;  and  those  men  will  hold  it  till  they  die.  But  I  say  again, 
that  that  is  not  the  policy  of  the  Church  of  Christ,  which,  on  earth, 
is  the  soldiery  of  God  ;  that  is  not  like  the  march  of  a  great  army 
which  Christ  commands  ;  and  I  beseech  you  again,  in  the  name  of 
these  isolated,  undergarrisoned  fortresses  of  the  far  East,  send  them 
men  and  send  them  means. 

We  have  in  the  extreme  North  of  China  a  field  of  Missions,  as 
noble  and  as  rich  in  promise  as  any  in  the  East.  The  country  is  a 
land  of  broad  rivers,  fertile  plains,  a  bracing  and  not  unkindly 
climate,  a  growing  trade,  and  when  we  saw  it,  a  land  of  waving 
and  boundless  harvests.  Eying  so  far  to  the  North,  it  is  more 
sparsely  peopled  ;  but  every  year  it  is  attracting  to  its  soil  the  more 
adventurous  population  from  other  provinces.  A  missionary  can 
travel  here  freely  among  the  people,  travel  for  a  thousand  miles, 
until  he  comes  in  sight  of  Russia  in  the  East,  and  he  may  feel  as 
secure  as  he  would  at  home.  Christian  books  and  papers  find 
many  ready  purchasers,  and  there  are  innumerable  opportunities 
for  declaring  the  Gospel.  There  are  towns  with  as  many  as  sixty 
thousand  of  a  population,  and  there  are  numberless  villages.  Now 
there  might  be  different  lines  of  mission  work  traced  over  that  vast 
country,  so  far  apart  that  while  each  was  occupied  with  all  the 
energy  that  an  eager  Church  could  throw  into  the  work,  there 
would  be  no  danger  of  collision,  or  jealousy,  or  of  one  overlapping 
the  other ;  and  that  is  precisely  what  the  two  Presbyterian  Churches 
that  are  represented  there,  the  United  Presbyterian  Church  of 
Scotland,  and  our  own,  would  naturally  do.  But  when,  on  the  spot 
and  map  in  hand,  we  proceeded,  our  missionaries  and  I  (and  you 
know  what  stamp  of  missionaries  we  have  out  there),  to  trace  only 


25 

one  of  these  lines,  my  heart  sank  when  I  remembered  that  the 
entire  of  our  advancing  column  consisted  of  just  two  men  ;  that 
with  these  our  Church  at  home  was  content  we  should  not  only 
hold  the  large  seaport  which  is  our  base,  and  establish  and  main- 
tain there  or  at  some  other  point  all  the  effort  that  gathers  round 
■a  medical  mission,  but  should  seize  also  each  of  the  other  towns 
upon  the  road  and  occupy  the  wide  country,  often  not  yet  explored 
by  Europeans,  of  which  each  is  the  center.  It  seems  absurd  to 
us  here  ;  but  out  there  it  is  only  felt  as  an  intolerable  shame  and 
sorrow. 

And,  if  I  might  say  anything  further  on  this  matter,  it  would  be 
to  offer  some  warning  against  a  tendency  that  runs  very  strongly 
at  present,  a  tendency  to  disperse  the  mission  work.  Old  missions 
are  crippled  that  new  missions  may  be  supported.  New  mission 
fields  are  opening  rapidly,  and  if  the  Churches  can  not  enter  them 
they  must  bear  the  blame.  But  it  is  a  poor  and  dangerous  policy 
to  occupy  them  by  crippling  the  older  work.  There  is  a  danger 
of  embarking  in  sensational  missions,  of  hurrying  into  new  lands, 
because,  being  new,  a  greater  marvel  gathers  round  them,  a  danger 
of  making  our  missions  a  field  of  signs  and  wonders  rather  than  a 
field  sown  thick  with  the  promises  of  God.  Let  the  Churches 
concentrate  their  missions  and  concentrate  their  sympathy  upon 
their  missions.  Let  them  take  different  fields,  and  each  conquer 
a  province  for  itself.  The  advance  of  God's  Kingdom  will  be 
found  not  so  much  in  the  number  of  missions  which  a  Church 
sustains,  as  in  their  character  and  in  the  consecration  to  Christ 
that  lies  at  the  bottom  of  them.  For  ourselves,  we  have  a  work  to 
do  in  Gujarat  and  Mantchooria  that  will  tax  our  resources  to  the 
very  utmost  for  years  to  come.  Let  us  gather  closer  round  our 
brethren  there,  gather  round  with  prayer  and  sympathy ;  let  us 
strengthen  their  hands  by  new  missionaries  every  year ;  let  us  make 
them  feel  by  our  overflowing  gifts  that  whatever  God  gives  them  to 
do,  they  may  do  it  at  once. 

Only  in  all .  this  let  me  not  be  understood  as  hinting  at  a  policy 
of  isolation.  When  we  were  in  Calcutta,  the  tidings  had  just 
reached  there  that  one  of  the  greatest  and  largest-souled  missionaries 
that  ever  lived  had  entered  on  his  everlasting  rest ;  and  there,  at 
least,  men  did  not  seem  to  think  it  strange  that  among  the  most 
brilliant  tributes  paid  to  the  venerable  Dr.  Duff,  himself  a  Presby- 
terian, was  a  lecture  on  his  life  by  a  native  professor,  a  member  of 
the  Episcopal  Church,  and  that  the  chair  was  occupied  by  the 
Rector  of  the  Jesuit  College.     A  catholicity  so  broad  as   this  is 


26 

exceptional ;  but  a  great-hearted  catholicity  is  stamped  on  all  the 
best  mission  work  and  on  the  highest  mission  workers.  The  work 
is  on  so  huge  a  scale,  it  must  cross  at  so  many  points,  and  it  is 
often  so  similar  in  kind  that  co-operation  is  essential.  The  form 
that  co-operation  will  take  must  depend  on  circumstances.  It  may 
be  by  Christian  Conferences,  and  the  more  of  frank  and  practical 
Christian  conference  the  better.  It  may  be  in  arranging  such  a  dis- 
tribution of  the  work  that  each  mission  will  strengthen  and  supple- 
ment the  other.  It  may  be  closer  still,  as  in  the  United  Christian 
College  at  Madras,  and  the  success  of  that  wise  and  generous  ex- 
periment suggests  that  it  may  be  tried  elsewhere.  Certainly  no 
church  or  mission  by  itself  is  strong  enough  to  do  what  India 
needs.  We  are  far  enough  from  that  point  yet.  Let  us  take  care 
of  thinking,  or  rather  let  me  take  care  of  inducing  you  to  think, 
that  the  evangelization  of  the  East  will  be  now  either  easy  or 
speedy,  as  if,  the  preparatory  sapping  and  mining  done,  the  fortress 
must  surrender.  A  vast  deal  has  been  done,  and  yet  we  are  only 
at  the  beginning.  There  is,  perhaps,  no  factor  in  the  changes  pass- 
ing over  India  so  important  as  that  of  education  (and  it  is  a  happy 
privilege  for  us  that  one  of  the  deputies  who  has  brought  the  greet- 
ings of  the  Free  Church  of  Scotland  is  now  by  common  consent 
the  foremost  representative  of  Christian  education  in  India,  one 
who  has  wrought  out  the  most  striking,  and,  at  the  same  time,  the 
most  catholic  experiment  in  that  direction — I  mean  the  Rev.  Prin- 
cipal Millar,  of  Madras),  yet  the  results  of  education  must  be 
allowed  more  than  one  generation  before  they  bulk  largely  in  our 
view.  It  took  two  hundred  years  for  Buddhism  to  conquer  India, 
and  it  enlisted  in  its  ranks  missionaries  whose  zeal,  self-sacrifice, 
and  daring  are  paralleled  only  by  the  servants  of  the  Cross,  while  in 
numbers  they  were  immeasurably  more.  We  need  not  dream  that 
we  shall  accomplish  the  same  work  within  the  span  of  a  man's  life. 
It  is  a  tremendous  thing  to  upset  the  faith  and  traditions  of  a 
country  ten  times  the  size  of  our  own,  and  among  all  the  convul- 
sions of  national  change  to  labor  for  the  spread  of  a  Christian  faith 
that  will  be  as  widely  diffused  as  here. 

How  far  was  Europe  toward  even  a  nominal  Christianity  after 
seventy  years  of  Apostolic  fervor  ?  Yet  in  India  we  have  to  deal 
with  a  population  many  times  as  large  as  that  of  all  Europe  then. 
The  work  is,  by  the  nature  of  it,  slow.  If  it  were  hasty,  we  would 
distrust  it.  Sudden  moral  growths  breed  in  us  the  dread  that  they 
will  be  sudden  failures.  When  I  asked  one  of  the  most  saintly  and 
laborious  missionaries   in  Western   India  whether  from  his  own  ex- 


27 

perience  he  could  point  to  any  great  spiritual  advance  since  1867, 
he  replied,  "  I  shall  simply  give  the  answer  I  gave  to  one  who  ques- 
tioned me  then.  In  the  making  of  our  break-water  they  have  been 
content  for  years  to  cast  huge  blocks  of  stone  into  the  sea.  The 
stones  have  sunk  beneath  the  waves.  To  one  who  does  not  know 
or  has  not  faith,  it  may  seem  a  foolish  waste,  a  waste  of  labor  and 
material.  But  when  these  blocks  at  last  begin  to  show  above  the 
water,  it  will  be  found  that  the  foundation  is  broad  enough  and 
strong  enough  for  whatever  men  may  need  to  build.  .  We  are  only 
laying  the  lower  stones  of  our  building,  and  they  do  not  yet  show 
much  above 'the  surface  of  social  life.  Why  should  we  be  impa- 
tient ?  We  must  have  a  foundation  on  which  we  can  build  the 
Christian  life  of  India." 

There  is  a  danger  that  the  indirect  results  to  which  I  have  pointed 
may  seem  so  large  or  so  hopeful  that  we  grow  content  with  them. 
A  movement  such  as  the  Brahmo  Somaj  may  indicate  the  direction 
in  which  men  look  for  fruit.  It  is  unquestionably  a  si^n  of  the 
commotion  and  change  that  agitate  the  Hindoo  mind,  and  of  the 
higher  aspirations  and  worthier  thoughts  that  have  been  sown  by  the 
Gospel.  Bnt  it  has  no  life  in  itself :  it  lives  on  what  it  borrows. 
It  would  be  easy  to  exaggerate  its  importance,  and  to  those  who 
know  it,  it  would  be  little  surprise  should  it  collapse.  In  a  lecture 
which  was  hailed  with  applause  in  Bombay,  the  remarkable  man 
who  founded  it  pointed  out  in  a  passage  of  striking  scorn,  that  the 
radical  failure  of  all  Hindoo  reform  lay  in  the  neglect  of  each  re- 
former to  include  himself;  and  when  we  were  in  Calcutta  a  schism 
rent  the  Soma/,  and  at  a  crowded  meeting  in  the  Town  Hall  I  heard 
this  very  charge,  and  in  the  words  of  the  Bombay  lecture,  hurled 
by  one  of  his  disciples  against  Chunder  Sen  himself. 

We  are  in  a  similar  danger  of  counting  too  much  on  the  influence 
of  the  help  benevolently  sent  in  time  of  famine.  These  Indian 
famines  have  been  terrible  ;  the  sight  of  the  famine  camps  in  Arcot 
and  Madras,  the  starved  skeletons  by  the  roadside,  the  tales  we 
heard  from  those  who  had  been  through  the  suffering,  the  knowledge 
of  the  vast  multitudes  that  perished,  were  heart-rendino-.  The 
charity  that  rose  up  at  home  to  meet  the  need  was  magnificent, 
and  it  has  left  a  deep  mark  upon  the  country.  Though  Gujarat 
was  spared  the  severity  of  the  trial,  it  could  not  escape  the  poverty 
caused  by  famine  prices,  and  we  saw  with  what  wise  forethought 
the  missionaries  husbanded  the  resources  with  which  you  furnished 
them  in  so  generous  a  sympathy,  to  what  advantage  your  gifts  were 
used,  and  what  a  profound  impression  was  produced  by  the  un- 


28 

selfishness  of  this  charity.  In  China,  where  the  famine  has  been 
still  more  awful,  where  the  loss  of  life  may  amount  to  twice  the 
population  of  our  island,  where,  within  the  stricken  region,  the  utter 
desolation  is  indescribable,  and  where  such  horrors  of  ancient 
famine  as  had  been  thought  scarcely  credible  are  daily  repro- 
duced, the  charity  that  was  poured  in  (though  compared  with  India 
the  stream  has  been  slender),  and  the  self-sacrifice  of  the  mis- 
sionaries, have  already  wrought  some  change  in  the  attitude  of  the 
people.  But  all  these  kindly  feelings  are  only  preparing  the  people 
to  receive  the  Gospel.  They  will  not  effect  any  religious  revolu- 
tion, or  touch  those  moral  sores  that  spread  over  the  Entire  body  of 
th  ;se  heathen  nations.  It  is  only  from  the  Gospel  of  Christ  that 
we  can  hope  for  what  these  nations  want ;  the  fight  with  the  gigan- 
tic evils  and  superstitions  that  overspread  them  must  be  fought  in 
the  power  of  His  Cross,  and  this,  the  true  help  we  bring,  we  must 
bring  speedily. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  because  educated  men  are  indiffer- 
ent to  Hindooism,  India  is  at  once  leaning  toward  Christ.  There 
are  infidel  and  destructive  forces  at  work  among  all  the  younger 
and  many  of  the  older  men.  Indifference  to  Hindooism  may  be 
only  the  sign  of  a  deadening  indifference  to  Christianity,  and  to 
whatever  is  noble  and  inspiring  ;  and  a  reign  of  indifference  would 
be  no  help  to  the  Gospel.  Enlightenment  does  not  cast  out 
idolatry.  The  manager  of  the  most  stately  temple  in  Southern 
India  is  the  most  enlightened  man  in  the  town  ;  and  able  and 
thoughtful  men  like  the  First  Prince  of  Travancore  defend  the 
idolatry  of  their  countrymen.  Remember,  we  have  not  only  cus- 
tom and  pride  and  the  dislike  of  the  conquered  to  fight  as  well  as 
religion,  and  that  caste  goes  with  religion  against  us,  but  that  we 
must  meet  the  infidelity  that  has  been  introduced  along  with 
Western  culture.  Christianity  is  not  the  only  influence  under  which 
men  come  who  have  been  educated  in  the  English  schools  :  for 
among  that  class  skepticism  is  at  present  the  quickest  growth. 
Bombay  had  not  a  complete  Marathi  Bible  until  1847,  but  in  1843 
it  had  ten  anti-Christian  papers.  The  commonest  book  that  is 
offered  in  the  Calcutta  bazar  is  a  cheap  edition  of  Tom  Paine. 
The  publications  of  Mr.  Holyoake  may  be  found  littering  the 
counter  of  respectable  booksellers.  While  the  churches  are  sleep- 
ing there  are  those  who  are  unsleeping.  A  missionary  of  long 
experience  informed  me  that  as  soon  as  the  young  men  whom  he 
knew  took  their  degree,  they  received  a  courteous  and  friendly 
letter  from  England,  and  along  with  it  a  packet  of  infidel  publica- 


29 

tions.  If  such  zeal  should  succeed,  are  not  the  Christian  churches 
to  blame,  the  churches  which  simply  look  on,  the  men  who  cry, 
What  are  Missions  doing?  and  all  the  while  will  not  lift  a  little  finger 
themselves?  The  growth  of  modern  India  is  unexampled.  Bom- 
bay, Calcutta,  and  Madras,  which  are  now  its  capitals,  are  larger 
cities  than  any  we  possess  at  home  but  London  :  yet  two  hundred 
years  ago  Bombay  was  spelled  in  public  documents  with  a  small 
"  b,"  and  only  known  as  a  place  near  Cochin,  now  an  obscure  port 
hundreds  of  miles  to  the  south ;  Madras  was  a  fort  garrisoned  by 
ten  men  ;  and  Calcutta  was  a  village  in  a  pestiferous  swamp.  In 
these  two  centuries  a  new  and  brilliant  empire  has  arisen.  But 
where  is  the  brilliancy  of  the  kingdom  of  our  Lord?  Have  we 
not  been  building  so  eagerly  at  the  one  that  we  have  been  losing 
sight  of  the  other?  We  have  lost  time  and  lost  opportunities  to 
make  up,  and  we  must  bring  help  swiftly  ;  but  we  have  no  reason 
to  doubt  or  falter.  Let  none  of  us  feel  a  sinking  of  the  heart,  but 
a  bracing  of  our  faith  and  courage,  and  gird  ourselves  up  for  a 
mighty  work.  The  living,  motive,  mighty  forces  of  Christ  touch  all 
the  widening  circle  along  which  His  kingdom  moves.  They  do 
not  lose  one  jot  of  energy  by  any  seeming  distance  they  have  to 
traverse.  Let  us  realize  this  as  we  hear  Him  say,  Lo,  I  am  in 
the  midst  of  you  ;  I  am  with  you  ahcay,  and  with  faces  lovingly  set 
toward  all  men  that  know  no  Saviour,  let  us  carry  forward  the  ark 
of  God. 

It  was  impossible  to  attend  the  great  religious  fair  at  Hurdwar, 
on  the  Upper  Ganges,  as  our  friends  of  the  American  mission  had 
planned;  but  we  learned  from  them  that  a  legend  runs  there,  a 
legend  that  was  freely  quoted  at  the  fair,  according  to  which,  at  the 
close  of  this  century,  the  Ganges  is  to  lose  its  sacred  character, 
which  will  be  transferred  to  a  river  farther  west,  and  that,  as  the 
time  comes  nearer,  faith  in  the  legend  gathers  strength.  Is  not 
that  western  river  to  which,  in  some  dim  way,  the  legend  may  be 
pointing,  the  river  of  the  city  of  God  the  streams  of  which  have 
already  made  glad  the  hearts  of  Christians  through  these  nineteen 
centuries,  the  river  of  God's  grace  that  flows  from  the  Cross  of 
Christ,  and  to  which  the  millions  of  India  will  yet  set  out  on  pil- 
grimage that  they  may  find  the  same  joy  ?  Is  it  not  westward  that 
India  must  look  ?  And  what  response  shall  we  make?  Can  we 
forget  that  we  who  belong  to  the  great  Presbyterian  churches  have 
a  place  to  maintain  in  the  work  of  missions  ?  If  we  may  include 
the  missions  of  the  Basel,  Rhenish,  and  Gossner  Societies  (which 
are    entered    in    the    Report    of    the    First    General    Presbyterian 


30 

Council  as  semi-Presbyterian)  their  clergy  are  one-third  of  all  the 
missionaries  to  the  far  East.  It  was  delightful  to  find  our  fellow 
Presbyterians  at  almost  every  point  we  visited  along  the  lines  of 
the  noble  army  of  missionaries  ;  in  Tokio  and  Yokohama  ;  reach- 
ing in  China  to  the  Amoor  in  the  North,  and  Southward  to 
Formosa  and  the  region  about  Canton  ;  to  open  their  first  mission 
church  in  Peking  ;  to  witness  the  baptism  of  the  seven  hundredth 
convert  of  their  mission  at  Swatow ;  to  be  welcomed  by  them  in 
Hong  Kong,  and  Singapore,  and  Ceylon  ;  to  notice  that  the 
structures  of  their  churches  are  prominent  landmarks  in  the  chief 
cities  of  India  ;  to  stay  with  them  at  Arcot  (and  in  that  district, 
where  there  are  thousands  of  native  Christians,  the  missionaries 
are  all  members  of  one  honored  family)  ;  to  travel  with  them 
through  Gujarat  and  Kattiawar  ;  to  rejoice  with  them  in  Raj  poo- 
tana-  ;  to  meet  the  young  converts  in  whom  the  Canadian  mission 
has  found  its  first  and  brilliant  success  at  Indore  ;  to  find  them 
firmly  settled  in  the  center  of  India  at  Allahabad,  and  to  see  their 
stations  as  far  up  as  Lahore ;  to  hear  of  them  farther  still  at 
Sealkote  and  Chamba,  and,  when  taken  to  the  highest  point  of  the 
spurs  of  the  Himalaya  at  Landour,  to  be  told  that  it  was  the  sani- 
tarium of  a  Presbyterian  mission.  It  was  delightful ;  but  does  it 
not  mean  that  we,  here,  can  not  lag  behind?  I  confess  I  would 
like  to  see  our  Church  a  missionary  Church.  The  mission  was  the 
ancient  glory  of  our  native  land,  and  behind  the  dark  days  that 
followed  we  look  back  with  joy  to  catch  the  old  splendor.  Let  it 
be  the  splendor  we  shall  have  cast  round  the  present,  when,  long 
after,  men  will  be  looking  back  to  us.  The  perseverance  of  the 
English,  Scottish  steadfastness,  and  the  Celtic  fervor  are  mingled 
elements  in  our  Ulster  race,  and  they  are  precisely  the  elements 
that  mingle  best  in  mission  work  ;  but  we  have  used  them  little  yet, 
for  whatever  we  have  done  to  fulfill  our  Lord's  love  to  the  heathen 
has  been  only  the  beginning  from  which  we  may  go  on  to  far 
greater  things. 

Appeal  after  appeal  was  put  in  my  hands  as  we  passed  from 
mission  to  mission.  I  feel  their  burthen  as  I  speak.  From  that 
land  of  promise  which  we  hold  in  Mantchooria,  from  all  China,  and 
from  all  India,  I  hear  die  voices  of  those  who  entreated  me  to  plead 
with  you  that  you  would  send  them  messengers  of  Christ.  There 
are  those  who  were  of  us  who  have  died  in  Christ  since  our  last 
meeting,  and  some  of  whom  have  been  linked  with  this  mission 
since  almost  it  began  ;  and  across  the  grave,  and  from  the  empty 
space   that  they  have  left  beside  us,  I  can  fancy  that   there   comes 


3i 

the  same  appeal.     There  are  the  graves  of  our  own  Mission,  lonely 
and   sacred   spots   where   I   have  often  stopped  to  think  cf  you  at 
home,   and    shall   we   not  accept   the   legacy   that   the   dead   have 
bequeathed  to  us,  to  carry  on  the  work  beyond  the  spot  where  they 
fell,  to  drop  the  half-heartedness  with  which  we  have  tried  to  meet 
a  duty  that  we  half- believed,  and  to  fight  with  all  the  energy  of 
faith  and  love  the  glorious  battle  for  the   truth   of  God  ?     There  is 
no  motive  we  can  have  so  noble  as  that  love  to  men  that  draws  us 
into  sympathy  with  the  infinite  love  of  our  blessed  Lord  ;  and  yet, 
if  you  but  knew  the  slender  links  that  bind  the  people  of  India  to 
our  rule,  the  possibilities  of  discontent,  and  in   a  large   class  the 
certainty  of  disaffection,  if  you  could  see  the  broad,  and,  I  fear,  not 
narrowing  gulf  that  divides  the   European  from   the  native,   if  you 
could  feel  at  how  many  points   the  influence  and  example  of  the 
missionary   are   a   healing    and   softening  force,   and    that   without 
a    force    like    this,    culture     may   only    intensify   dislike    and     the 
righteousness  of  a  powerful  government  may  not  avert  revolt,  you 
would  recognize   in   Christian   missions  the  power  that  will   keep 
India  loyal  and  make  India  great.     Let  us  not  delay;  but  let  us 
rise  above  the  old  measure  of  our  faith,  and,  like   those   who  have 
been  smitten  by  a  new  love,  send  out  the  flower  of  our  men,  and  gifts 
that  have  the  stamp  of  sacrifice  upon  them,  into  the  great  struggle. 
It  is  not  more  than  two  months  since  I  watched  the  sun  rise  over 
the  Himalayas,  and,  as  the  light  gathered,  the  boundless  plains  of 
India  grew  visible,  stretching  for  a  hundred  miles  to  the  south,  dim 
and  still  among  the  shadows  ;  but  when  the  sun  rose  and  smote  the 
plains,  the   shadows  fled  away,  and   all  the  sounds  of  life   stole  up 
into  the  air ;  and  I  longed,  as  you  would  have  longed,  for  that  day 
when  Christ  will  rise  in  all  His  glory  over  the  whole  land,  when  the 
shadows  of  its  night  and  the  sleep  of  death  will  give  place   to  the 
shining  of  the  Sun  of  Righteousness  and  all  the  waking  of  a  spiritual 
life  ;  and  then  I  turned  to  see  the  mountain  wall,  height  upon  height 
of  mighty  mountain  ranges,  and  behind  them  the  endless  peaks  of 
snow,  shining  like   some  bright  pathway  out  of  this  world   into  an- 
other, and  I  felt,  in  the  clear  glory  of  that  sun,  as  if  the  great   in- 
gathering  of  the  heathen  peoples  was   already  come,  and   that  1 

saw — 

"  Ten  thousand  times  ten  thousand, 
In  sparkling  raiment  bright  ; 
The  armies  of  the  ransomed  saints 

Throng  up  the  steeps  of  light. 
'Tis  finished — all  is  finished! 

Their  fight  with  death  and  sin  : 
Fling  open  wide  the  golden  gates 
And  let  the  victors  in." 


<34>' 


A  SURVEY  OF  FIFTY  YEARS' 


MISSION    "WORK. 


1825-1875. 


A  SURVEY  OF  FIFTY  YEARS'  MISSION  WORK. 


"  Missions  are  a  failure,"  is  a  cry  that  has  oft  been  heard  by  every  friend  of 
the  cause,  and  the  faith  of  some  has  through  this  repeated  statement  at  times 
been  shaken  in  the  work  said  to  have  been  done.  No  doubt  some  have 
expected  an  easy  victory  over  hoary  superstitions  and  worn  -  out  beliefs. 
They  have  anticipated  a  speedy  triumph  over  the  enemies  of  the  truth,  and 
not  seeing  their  hopes  realized,  they  have  been  affected  by  this  periodic 
cry,  and  are  almost  ready  to  abandon  the  work.  Others,  fascinated  with 
the  grand  successes,  as  they  believe  of  Apostolic  times,  and  chilled  with  the 
slowness  and  feebleness  of  modern  missions,  are  ready  to  condemn  present 
methods  as  inoperative  or  incapable  of  achieving  the  end  in  view,  and  are  will- 
ing to  fall  back  upon  any  theory  that  will  absolve  them  from  persevering  and 
self-sacrificing  toil.  Now  it  is  difficult  to  satisfy  minds  like  these  with  any 
amount  of  preliminary  effort,  however  essential  it  may  be  to  future  triumphs. 
Their  faith  must  speedily  terminate  in  sight ;  or  it  will  entirely  disappear. 
Proofs  are  not  wanting  of  decided  progress ;  but  unwilling  to  accept  them  as 
real,  they  are  more  ready  to  complain  than  to  hope ;  more  willing  to  doubt, 
than  to  hear  the  call  for  an  onward  movement. 

There  has  been,  and  is,  another  class  who  have  never  entered  heartily  into 
the  work ;  who  have  doubted  its  expediency  when  so  much  has  to  be  accom- 
plished nearer  home,  and  who  feel  that  the  time  has  not  come  for  taking  hold 
of  it  with  vigor.  These  have  been  more  willing  to  play  missions  than  to  work 
them  thoroughly  ;  more  anxious  to  be  regarded  as  spectators  than  active  par- 
ticipators. It  is.  therefore,  easy  for  such  to  see  failure,  and  to  look  upon 
every  evidence  of  it,  however  partial  or  one-sided,  as  confirming  their  sagacity 
and  position. 

Outside  of  these  is  another  class  in  every  community,  w7ho  are  wholly  scepti- 
cal on  the  subject  of  missions.  They  do  nothing  for  them  ;  do  not  believe  in 
them ;  and  are  by  no  means  averse  to  crediting  any  evil  reports  respecting 
their  progress.  These  reports  chime  in  with  their  preconceived  ideas,  and  as 
such  they  must  be  true.  A  portion  of  this  number  hold  that  other  appliances 
must  first  be  used — as  commerce,  civilization,  etc. — to  precede  the  work  of 
conversion  ;  and  though  this  is  an  exploded  theory,  yet  men  are  ever  coming 
forward  to  plead  it  as  the  only  feasible  plan  to  win  success. 

The  influence  of  such  views,  and  the  presence  and  pcwer  of  those  who 
maintain  them,  exert  upon  others  a  deleterious  effect,  and  all  the  more  if  they 
are  allied  with  God's  people  who  are  putting  forth  energetic  efforts  for  the  dif- 


fusion  of  the  gospel  in  the  earth.  The  cause  at  home  has  thus  had  to  contend 
with  indifference,  opposition,  and  selfishness ;  while  abroad  it  has  awakened 
every  form  of  hostility,  whose  sole  aim  has  been  the  overthrow  of  truth  and 
righteousness.  Satanic  agency,  coupled  with  human  depravity,  have  in  various 
forms  been  exerted  to  thwart  the  labors  of  missionaries  and  to  drive  them 
from  their  work.  These  influences  have  been  strong,  yet  those  against  whom 
they  were  directed  were  enabled  to  hold  their  ground,  meet  attacks,  and  to 
win  success.  Their  enemies  oft  became  their  friends,  and  movements  that 
were  mighty  seemingly  for  evil,  were  overruled  for  the  advancement  of  Christi- 
anity. 

Then  the  means  at  the  disposal  of  the  different  missionary  institutions  have 
ever  been  small  and  inadequate  to  accomplish  a  great  undertaking.  When 
compared  with  the  resources  needed  for  human  enterprises,  they  seem  feeble 
indeed.  To  dislodge  a  few  Modoc  Indians  from  their  retreat  in  the  north- 
west, cost  the  Government  ioo  lives  and  $6,000,000 — nearly  four  times  the 
amount  expended  by  the  whole  Church  of  this  country  in  that  year  in  its 
foreign  evangelistic  work.  The  English  war  with  its  American  Colonies  cost 
that  nation  ^15 1,000,000.  Our  Government  paid  out  from  April,  186 1,  to 
September,  1866,  to  officers  and  men  simply  as  pay  for  their  services  during 
the  war,  $1,094,000,000,  and  from  the  beginning  of  the  war  to  June,  1874,  the 
Government  paid  in  pensions  over  $246,000,000.  The  amount  expended  regu- 
larly for  luxuries  is  vast  when  compared  with  the  offerings  of  Christians  for  the 
luxury  of  doing  good. 

But  the  work  of  the  missionary  in  heathen  and  Mohammedan  lands  is  to 
sow  the  seed,  and  this  seed  in  the  hands  of  the  Spirit  has  a  diffusive  power. 
It  has  life.  This  work  may  seem  to  many  to  advance  slowly,  but  it  advances 
surely.  Progress  is  not  to  be  measured  by  outward  success.  Reverses  are 
often  triumphs,  and  when  everything  seems  inauspicious,  the  cause  may  be 
prepared  for  glorious  results. 

A  writer,  speaking  of  the  condition  of  Christendom  in  the  early  part  of  the 
sixteenth  century,  says  :  "  Everything  was  quiet,  every  heretic  exterminated, 
and  the  whole  Christian  world  supinely  acquiesced  in  the  enormous  absurdi- 
ties of  the  Romish  Church."  When  the  Council  of  Lateran  met  soon  after, 
the  orator  exclaimed,  "  Now  no  one  opposes  !"  But  a  few  months  had  only 
elapsed  when  the  thunders  of  the  Reformation  disturbed  and  alarmed  the 
Vatican.  Great  changes  are  not  the  work  of  a  day  or  a  year  ;  when  they 
come  they  may  appear  sudden,  but  the  causes  that  produced  them  have  been 
in  operation  for  a  long  time.  So  future  triumphs  for  the  Church  are  now 
going  on  slowly,  perhaps,  but  surely  ;  and  the  preliminary  work  of  to-day  has  an 
important  bearing  upon  the  successes  of  to-morrow. 

There  is  also  much  to  encourage  Christians  in  the  present  aspects  of  the 
work.  It  is  no  longer  an  experiment,  but  a  fixed  fact  in  the  theology  of  the 
day  and  in  the  schemes  of  every  Evangelical  Church.  It  is  gaining  the  respect 
of  men  and  the  favorable  recognition  of  the  public  press.     Governments  are 


acknowledging  its  power,  and  opposing  systems  are  dreading  its  progress. 
These  things  should  be  noted  in  any  survey  of  the  field  now  occupied  by  mis- 
sionaries and  of  the  work  already  commenced. 

A    RETROSPECT. 

It  may  be  well,  then,  to  look  back  fifty  years  and  consider  what  has  been 
done  in  the  cause  of  Missions,  and  see  whether  the  encouragements  are  suf- 
ficient to  lead  Christians  to  take  a  firmer  grasp  of  it ;  or  whether  the  advance 
made  is  commensurate  with  the  labor  and  means  expended.  To  do  this,  we 
must  know  what  had  been  achieved  in  1825,  and  what  at  the  close  of  1875  is 
now  the  state  of  the  enterprise. 

Fifty  years  ago  the  population  of  our  country,  with  its  twenty-one  distinct 
States,  was  nearly  11,000,000.  Then  there  were  only  four  foreign  mission- 
ary societies — the  American  Board,  organized  18 10 ;  the  Baptist  Board,  in  18 14  ; 
the  Methodist  Board,  in  1819;  and  that  of  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church, 
in  182 1 — and  only  the  first  two  had  missionaries  outside  of  the  United  States. 
There  were  also  organizations  for  the  evangelization  of  the  Indians;  with  some 
of  these  and  with  the  American  Board,  the  Presbyterian  Church  co-operated. 
Of  the  other  benevolent  institutions,  the  American  Bible  Society  had  been  in 
existence  nine  years  ;  the  American  Tract  Society  had  just  been  formed,  and 
also  the  Sunday-school  Union ;  the  Colonization  Society,  the  Society  for 
Ameliorating  the  Condition  of  the  Jews,  etc.,  had  been  recently  established, 
but  were  unable  then  to  take  any  commanding  position  in  behalf  of  the  causes 
for  which  they  had  been  inaugurated. 

The  different  missionary  organizations  mentioned,  had  at  this  period  127 
missionaries  of  all  classes,  laboring  at  64  stations,  and  had  under  their  care 
about  8,000  children  in  mission  schools.  These  stations  were  among  several 
Indian  tribes — in  Hayti,  the  Sandwich  Islands,  in  Burmah,  India,  Ceylon, 
Syria,  Malta,  and  Western  Africa.  The  number  of  organized  churches  was 
small.  The  contributions  of  the  churches  for  evangelistic  purposes  reached 
only  about  $100,000.  The  receipts  of  the  American  Bible  Society  in  1825 
were  $44,833  ;  its  issues  of  Bibles  and  Testaments  for  that  year  were  63,851, 
?.nd  the  total  of  its  issues  had  not  reached  400,000  copies  from  the  beginning. 
The  amounts  received  by  other  benevolent  societies  were  small. 

The  condition  of  Mexico  at  this  time  was  far  from  quiet.  A  republic  had 
lately  been  proclaimed,  and  the  country  was  wholly  severed  from  Spanish  rule. 
The  only  religion  tolerated  was  that  of  Rome,  and  the  Papal  Church  was 
allied  with  the  State. 

In  the  West  Indies  and  Guiana  the  gospel  had  been  proclaimed  with  power, 
and  in  this  region  was  the  greatest  ingathering  into  the  Church.  It  was  to 
one  of  the  West  India  islands  that  the  Moravian  brethren  sent  their  first  mis- 
sionaries, but  this  had  not  been  the  exclusive  work  of  this  ncble  band  of  Chris- 
tians ;  Episcopalians,  Presbyterians,  Methodists,  Congregationalists,  and  Baptists 
of  Great  Britain,  all  in  time  engaged  in  the  religious  instruction  of  the  negroes 


and  of  others.  At  first  every  obstacle  was  thrown  in  their  way,  but  courage 
and  perseverance  triumphed.  The  adaptation  of  the  gospel  to  the  enslaved 
was  soon  apparent,  and  thousands  at  this  time  had  embraced  it. 

All  the  South  American  Provinces,  down  to  Patagonia,  that  had  fallen  under 
the  sway  of  Rome,  and  that  had  been  ruled  over  by  Spain  and  Portugal,  were  at 
this  period  separated  after  bloody  contests  from  their  dominion.  Some  of  these 
had,  and  others  were  framing  constitutes,  Organizing  governments,  and  mak- 
ing treaties  with  foreign  powers.  In  none  of  them  was  real  liberty — the  right  to 
worship  God  according  to  the  dictates  of  conscience — recognized.  In  some 
a  kind  of  toleration  was  proclaimed,  but  it  was  not  that  freedom  afterwards 
guaranteed,  and  now  enjoyed  in  the  different  republics.  So  that  in  none  of 
them,  except  Guiana,  was  any  direct  evangelistic  work  attempted  beyond  the 
circulation  of  the  Word  of  God. 

WHAT   WAS    DOING    IN    ASIA. 

Passing  eastward,  we  come  to  the  Sandwich  Islands,  where  the  people  had 
overthrown  idolatry,  and  were  seemingly  waiting  for  the  heralds  of  the  Cross. 
These,  on  their  arrival  soon  after,  were  permitted  to  remain  as  teachers ;  but 
they  were  soon  appalled  at  the  social  and  moral  degradation  of  the  natives, 
and  asked  each  other,  "Can  these  be  human  beings,  and  can  they  be  Chris- 
tianized ?"  In  1825  there  was  a  response  to  this  doubting  inquiry,  when  ten 
principal  chiefs  were  received  into  full  communion  with  the  Church,  and  when 
the  government  itself  made  a  formal  acknowledgment  of  the  authority  of 
Christianity.  It  was,  however,  a  day  of  small  things,  but  gave  promise  of 
better  times.  Then  Japan  was  hermetically  sealed,  and  the  same  was  true  of 
China.  Dr.  Morrison  had  entered  it,  but  rather  as  the  servant  of  the  East 
India  Company,  than  as  the  representative  of  the  London  Missionary  Society; 
and  as  such  he  was  permitted  to  remain,  but  he  was  unable  openly  to  preach 
the  Word.  There  was  not  another  with  him.  Milne,  who  had  gone  out  to  be 
his  associate,  could  remain  but  a  short  time,  when  he  fell  back  upon  Malacca, 
in  the  Indian  Archipelago,  where  an  Anglo-Chinese  College  was  established, 
in  the  hope  that  it  would  in  time  tell  upon  China.  Fifty  years  ago  there 
were  only  three  missionaries  in  the  Indian  Archipelago  for  the  Chinese,  under 
the  care  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  who  were  laboring  at  Singapore, 
Malacca,  and  Pinang.  Burmah  was  at  this  period  desolated  by  war.  Judson 
and  his  devoted  wife,  and  Dr.  Price,  were  prisoners  ;  Mr.  Wade  and  his  wife 
had  retired  to  Calcutta;  and  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hough  to  Serampore.  Prior  to 
this  conflict  with  Great  Britain,  eighteen  native  converts  had  been  formed  into 
a  Christian  Society  at  Rangoon  ;  but  to  the  Karens,  among  whom  such  suc- 
cesses were  to  be  won,  the  gospel  had  not  been  proclaimed.  To  the  Siamese  no 
church  had  commissioned  its  representatives  to  declare  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus. 

India  was  traversed  by  many  missionaries  fifty  years  ago.  In  1813  the 
East  India  Company  was  compelled  by  the  force  of  public  sentiment  in  En- 
gland, to  allow  missionaries  to  live  and  labor  in  their  dominion.     Lor  a  time 


a  restrictive  policy  was  followed.  In  1816,  an  order  was  issued  by  the  Gov- 
ernment "  that  missionaries  were  not  to  preach  to  the  natives,  or  suffer  the 
native  converts  to  do  so  ...  .  nor  to  take  any  step,  by  conversion  or  other- 
wise, to  persuade  the  natives  to  embrace  Christianity."  Up  to  1828,  when  a 
missionary  wished  to  leave  his  station  and  visit  the  out-stations  of  the  Mission, 
he  had  to  make  a  formal  application  to  the  Government  for  permission.  This 
the  Baptist  missionaries  of  Serampore  had  to  do  till  Sir  William  Bentinck 
became  Governor-General.  While  on  his  Episcopal  tour  in  the  north-west  in 
1825,  Bishop  Heber  was  asked  by  the  chaplain  at  Meerut,  to  baptize  a  native 
convert,  "  but  in  consequence,"  says  the  Bishop,  "  of  the  rule  which  I  had  laid 
down,  not  to  become  needlessly  conspicuous  in  the  pursuit  of  objects  which 
are  not  my  immediate  concern,  I  declined.  For  the  same  reason,  I  have 
abstained  from  distributing  tracts,  or  acting  in  any  way  which  might  excite  the 
jealousy  of  those  whom  it  is  on  all  accounts  desirable  to  conciliate.  The 
work  of  conversion  is,  I  think,  silently  going  on  ;  but  those  who  wish  it  best, 
will  be  most  ready  to  say,  Festina  lente."  In  1830  the  Chaplain  of  Allaha- 
bad was  forbidden,  even  if  at  their  request,  to  explain  Christianity  to  the 
Sepoys,  or  baptize  them  if  they  applied  for  it ;  and  an  order  was  issued  to  all 
chaplains,  which  was  in  force  not  long  ago,  that  they  were  not  to  speak  at  all 
to  native  soldiers  on  the  subject  of  religion.  The  only  American  Missionary 
Society  laboring  in  India  and  in  Ceylon  in  1825,  was  the  American  Board; 
and  the  Churches  of  Great  Britain  which  had  their  representatives  in  the  field 
were  the  Baptist ;  the  Episcopal ;  the  Independent,  and  Presbyterian,  who  co- 
operated in  the  London  Missionary  Society  ;  the  Wesleyan  ;  and  the  Scottish 
Missionary  Society.  Then  Christianity  had  made  no  abiding  impression  upon  the 
habits  and  customs  of  the  people,  or  upon  the  godless  policy  of  the  East  India 
Company.  Female  education  was  being  agitated.  When  Miss  Cook  arrived 
in  India  in  182 1,  and  made  known  the  object  of  her  mission,  Europeans  and 
natives  declared  that  it  was  the  most  visionary  scheme  ever  formed,  and  sure 
to  fail.  Her  native  teacher  told  her  again  and  again,  that  she  would  never 
succeed — their  women  were  beasts,  and  could  not  learn.  The  attempt,  how- 
ever, was  made  by  her  and  others,  and  in  1825  there  were  nearly  1,200  girls  in 
Protestant  schools. 

From  India  to  Syria  there  was  no  missionary  of  the  Cross.  For  a  short 
time  Henry  Martyn  had  taken  up  his  abode  in  Persia,  and  had  sought  to  lead 
the  people  to  Christ ;  but  no  one  till  Justin  Perkins  entered  it,  in  1834,  had 
gone  to  reside  as  a  preacher  of  the  gospel.  In  Syria  and  at  Malta  missionaries 
are  found  from  our  own  country  and  from  England — in  the  latter  chiefly — 
as  a  centre  of  action  and  a  secure  asylum  for  preparing  and  diffusing  truth  around 
the  Mediterranean.  The  Scottish  and  German  Missionary  Societies  were  at 
work  at  several  points  near  the  Caspian  and  Black  Seas,  but  they  were  greatly 
interfered  with  in  their  operations  by  the  Russian  power,  who  claimed  that 
according  to  an  old  law,  no  heathen  could  be  baptized  throughout  the  whole 
empire  except  by  the  Russian  Greek  clergy.    A  change  in  the  attitude  of  Rus- 


8 

sia  toward  missionary  operations  and  the  circulation  of  the  Bible  was  then  tak- 
ing place.  The  authorities  held  that  no  translation  of  the  Scriptures  could  be 
printed  without  the  approbation  of  three  archbishops  ;  that  no  tracts  could  be 
circulated  without  being  submitted  to  the  censorship  of  the  empire,  and  that 
no  schools  were  to  be  established.  The  National  Bible  Society  was  suspended, 
and  the  whole  powers  of  the  Government  were  directed  to  arrest  the  progress 
of  knowledge  and  a  pure  Christianity.  In  consequence  of  this  opposition,  twelve 
missionaries  belonging  to  the  United  Brethren,  the  London,  and  the  Scottish 
Missionary  Societies,  were  withdrawn.  In  Turkey,  except  at  the  points  already 
indicated,  there  was  no  missionary  to  preach  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ ; 
but  at  these  places  hostility  was  awakened  against  evangelistic  labor.  A  decree 
from  the  Sultan  had  been  promulgated  warning  all,  by  his  anathema,  against 
Christian  books  of  whatever  kind,  and  the  Maronite  Patriarch  speaking  against 
the  Bible  and  the  missionaries,  sought  to  weaken  their  influence,  and  thus  pre- 
pare the  way  for  their  removal.  The  conversion  of  Asaad  Shidiak  cheered  the 
laborers  in  their  toils  and  trials,  but  his  sad  fate  soon  after,  showed  the  relent- 
less spirit  with  which  they  would  have  to  contend. 

THE    CONDITION    OF    EUROPE. 

Greece  was  at  this  period  battling  for  her  rights  in  a  deadly  contest  with 
Turkey ;  and  whilst  many  sympathized  with  her  in  her  struggles  after  liberty, 
none  were  on  her  shores  announcing  through  Christ  a  freedom  from  spiritual 
tyranny. 

Papal  Europe  was  wholly  closed  to  Protestant  aggression.  In  France,  Prot- 
estantism was  tolerated  though  hated,  and  various  hindrances  were  thrown 
in  the  way  on  the  part  of  the  State  for  its  propagation.  Heathen  and  Moham- 
medan lands  were  more  accessible  to  the  truth  than  Papal  countries.  Spain 
ordered  all  books,  pamphlets,  or  papers  prohibited  by  the  Church  or  Inquisi- 
tion, to  be  delivered  up  to  the  authorities,  and  whosoever  disobeyed  this  decree 
should  meet  with  the  severest  punishment.  At  this  time  Spain  was  politically 
and  socially  in  a  wretched  condition,  and  Italy  was  little  better.  The  Walden- 
ses  were  persecuted  by  her.  No  Vandois  could  possess  any  land  beyond  their 
narrow  limits,  and  within  these  they  were  subject  to  a  Council  composed  of  Ro- 
man Catholics.  They  were  excluded  from  all  public  offices.  Whenever  new  Bi- 
bles were  imported  every  pastor  had  to  give  a  guarantee,  in  writing,  that  not  a 
single  copy  should  be  sold  or  given  to  a  Roman  Catholic.  He,  on  the  contrary, 
could  exert  all  his  influence  to  convert  the  Waldenses  to  his  faith.  The  Pope 
fulminated  against  all  Bible  societies,  and  admonished  his  followers  to  destroy 
all  Bibles  that  came  into  their  hands;  declaring  that  the  translation  of  the  Holy 
Scriptures  into  the  vulgar  tongues  of  the  nations,  "gave  just  cause  of  fear  that 
we  shall  find  in  them,  instead  of  the  gospel  of  Jesus  Christ,  the  gospel  of  man, 
or  rather,  the  gospel  of  the  devil."  The  spiritual  condition  of  Protestant 
nations  on  the  Continent  was  low.  Formalism  characterized  the  masses  ;  and 
in   several    of   the   theological   schools    rationalism    and   bold  infidelity   were 


9 

taught.  The  majority  of  the  clergy  were  infidels.  Here  and  there  was  a 
movement  toward  a  better  state  of  things ;  but  life  was  feeble,  and  yet  that 
little  called  forth  in  some  provinces  bitter  persecution.  In  Germany  there 
were  some  missionary  efforts,  but  fifty  years  ago  they  were  few,  and  far  from 
vigorous.  The  Society  that  exhibited  the  most  energy  and  power  on  the  Con- 
tinent, was  that  of  the  United  Brethren.  They  have,  however,  in  a  greater 
part  of  their  history,  received  much  aid  from  others  who  were  not  connected 
ecclesiastically  with  them. 

Great  Britain  was  waging  at  this  juncture  a  successful  war  with  Burmah, 
which  was  overruled  to  the  opening  of  that  country  more  fully  to  the  gospel 
and  to  the  permanent  establishment  of  the  missionary  enterprise.  At  home 
her  population  were  suffering  from  commercial  depression,  and  the  nation  was 
greatly  agitated  by  Catholic  emancipation,  the  slave  trade,  etc.  The  Churches 
were  beginning  to  advance  in  missionary  zeal  and  benevolence,  and  as  a  nec- 
essary result  the  tone  of  spiritual  life  was  rising.  Then,  as  now,  Great  Britain 
kept  in  the  van  in  her  loyalty  to  the  missionary  cause  and  in  her  support  of 
the  same.  Her  leading  Societies  contributed  about  $1,000,000  in  1825  ;  not 
including  in  this  the  donations  of  the  Bible  Society  to  forward  this  department 
of  work.  Ireland  was  in  a  state  of  religious  and  political  fermentation.  The 
Roman  Catholic  population  were  open  and  violent  in  their  opposition  to  the 
circulation  of  the  Scriptures,  and  the  peasantry  were  socially  in  a  sad  and  im- 
poverished condition. 

AFRICA. 

Passing  from  Europe  to  the  continent  of  Africa,  we  reach  a  land  of  dark- 
ness, and  a  people  sitting  in  the  region  and  shadow  of  death.  As  a  country 
or  a  vast  continent,  much  of  it,  especially  in  the  interior,  was  unknown  ;  but 
at  that  time,  great  exertions  were  made  by  travelers  and  explorers  to  behold 
its  wonders.  Morally  and  socially,  the  state  of  the  tribes  was  truly  deplorable, 
and  this  was  rendered  worse  by  the  conduct  of  Christian  nations  who  by  their 
cupidity  were  spreading  misery,  devastation,  and  death  over  all  her  coasts,  and 
whose  ministers  of  ruin  stood  in  the  way  of  the  missionary  of  peace. 

Says  one  at  that  period  : 

"The  slave  trade  flourishes  with  as  much  horrible  activity  as  at  any  former 
period.  England  is  clear  of  the  pollution,  it  is  certain,  but  somebody  must 
have  nerves  to  declare  the  melancholy  and  mortifying  truth — from  which  all 
Englishmen  of  all  parties  are  too  ready,  if  not  to  withhold  their  belief,  at  least  to 
turn  aside  their  attention — that  the  amount  of  African  misery  has  not  been 
reduced  a  single  particle.  If  the  flag  of  England  be  no  longer  employed  to 
cover  this  abomination,  there  is  scarcely  another  flag  in  Europe  ;  or,  with  the 
exception  of  the  United  States,  out  of  Europe  by  which  it  is  not  masked  from 
the  researches  of  our  men-of-war  or  shielded  from  their  forcible  interference. 
France,  Spain,  Portugal,  Holland,  and  Brazil,  all  have  been,  and  are,  appar- 
ently to  this  hour,  disgraced  by  the  subserviency  of  their  national  colors  to.  the 


IO 

avarice  of  dealers  in  Negro  blood,  and  by  the  atrocious  diligence  of  their  sub- 
jects in  the  work  of  desolation  throughout  Africa." 

Another  in  speaking  of  the  little  done  for  the  spiritual  elevation  of  the 
people,  said  : 

"  The  ships  of  every  civilized  nation  have,  for  two  centuries,  been  seen  upon 
the  coast  of  this  continent ;  but  the  winds  that  wafted  them  have  borne  over 
that  land  the  spirit  of  hostility,  indescribable  griefs,  and  the  contagion  of  death. 
Not  a  spot  is  there  on  the  whole  coast,  from  the  Senegal  to  the  Congo,  which 
has  not  been  trodden  by  the  minister  of  avarice  and  cruelty,  while  there  is 
scarcely  one  which  has  been  visited  by  the  missionaries  of  the  merciful  Saviour. 
The  sign  of  the  cross  has  been  to  the  wretched  African  a  sign  of  woe  ;  the 
name  of  Christian,  a  word  of  terror ;  and  the  profession  of  our  holy  faith  has 
been  rendered  odious  by  deeds  of  iniquity  and  blood." 

Missions  had  been  established  on  the  western  coast  at  Gambia,  Sierra 
Leone,  and  the  Gold  Coast  by  the  Church  and  VVesleyan  Missionary  Socie- 
ties, and  in  Liberia  by  the  American  Baptist  Missionary  Union,  who  had,  at 
this  time,  two  Africo-American  missionaries.  In  Southern  Africa,  the  London, 
the  Church,  the  Wesleyan,  -the  United  Brethren,  the  Glasgow,  and  the  Gospel 
Propagation  Societies  were  laboring  among  the  Hottentots,  the  Caffrees,  the 
Griquas,  the  Bechuanas,  and  the  Namaquas,  and  in  the  African  islands — 
Mauritius  and  Madagascar — the  London  Missionary  Society  was  beginning  to 
reap  some  fruit.  The  laborers,  however,  complain  of  the  awful  extent  of 
infanticide  in  the  latter  island,  and  of  the  destructive  and  depopulating  prac- 
tice of  trial  by  poison. 

Returning  to  the  South  Sea  Islands,  the  Church  Missionary  Society  was 
rejoicing  over  its  first  convert  in  New  Zealand,  and  at  the  same  time  fearing 
the  warlike  spirit  of  the  people.  The  London  Missionary  Society  was  gather- 
ing in  the  first-fruits  in  the  Georgian,  Society,  Friendly,  and  Hervey  Islands, 
the  assurance  of  the  coming  harvest  which  has  been  partially  reaped.  In 
Greenland  and  Labrador  the  Moravians  were  continuing  to  see  the  results  of 
their  self-denying  labors,  and  among  the  Indians  on  Red  River,  etc.,  in  the 
British  Possessions  the  Church  Missionary  Society's  laborers  had  baptized 
four  Indian  youths. 

RESULTS. 

Such  is  a  rapid  survey  of  the  state  of  things  in  the  year  1825,  and  of  the 
countries  where  the  different  Missionary  Societies  had  begun  or  were  commenc- 
ing labor  for  the  evangelization  of  their  inhabitants,  and  massing  together  the 
sums  contributed  for  direct  missionary  purposes,  and  the  gathered  results  in 
communicants  and  in  the  numbers  educated  in  schools,  and  we  have  the  fol- 
lowing tabular  view  of  Protestant  missions,  compiled  from  the  London  Mission 
Register  for  1825  : 

Stations.    Missionaries.     Native  Assistants.    Pupils.    Communicants. 

Western  Africa 19     26     23     3,460     603 

South  "       27     5o     6     683     367 

African  Islands 3     7     x      245     


II 


Stations.    Missionaries.    Native  Assistants.    Pupils.     Communicants. 

Mediterranean 4  16  

Black  and  Caspian  Seas 3  14  

Siberia 1  3  

China 1  1  1     

India  beyond  the  Ganges.. .  5  n 1     150     100 

India   56  120  240     22,240     495 

Ceylon, 18  28  29     12,164     381 

Indian  Archipelago 15  21  250     

Australasia  and  Polynesia. .  35  63  ;....     93     7i586     2,000 

South  American  States 1  2  

Guiana  and  West  India 59  104  3,322     33i68o 

North  American  Indians. .  .  35  88  900     200 

Labrador  and  Greenland.. ..  7  30  193 

Some  of  these  statistics  are  imperfect,  but  making  allowance  for  this,  and  at 
the  most  we  have  only  about  40,000  members  gathered  into  churches  as  a  conse-» 
quence  of  missionary  labor,  or  leaving  out  of  view  those  in  Guiana  and  the  West 
Indies,  and  we  have  not  more  than  6,000  converts  to  the  truth  in  all  other 
portions  of  the  globe.  In  Africa  about  t,ooo  ;  in  Asia  scarcely  any  except  in 
India  and  Ceylon  ;  in  North  America  and  Greenland  not  quite  1,000  ;  and  in  the 
isles  of  the  sea  about  2,000.  This  does  not  take  into  consideration  those  who 
had  embraced  Christianity  under  the  labors  of  Schwartz  and  others  in  South- 
ern India,  many  of  whom  were  Christians  only  in  name.  They  allowed  caste 
to  exist  and  to  enter  the  Church,  which  acted  on  the  Christian  community  like 
poison.  From  it  sprang  pride,  distrust,  and  alienation,  and  few  were  found 
on  the  Church's  roll  in  1825.  Several  placed  in  this  list  as  missionaries  were 
not  ministers  of  the  gospel.  The  amounts  contributed  by  the  different  mis- 
sionary societies  was  a  little  over  $1,000,000,  and  of  this  the  churches  in  our 
own  country  gave  about  one-ninth.  The  receipts  of  Missionary,  Bible,  Educa- 
tion and  Tract  Societies  in  1825  were  about  $2,400,000.  This  includes  also 
the  sales  of  Bible  and  Tract  organizations.  Considerable  had  been  done  in 
the  way  of  translations.  Dr.  Morrison  had  completed  the  translation  of  the 
Bible  into  Chinese,  and  was  in  1825  in  England  endeavoring  to  awaken  more 
interest  among  the  people  in  behalf  of  China.  The  Serampore  missionaries 
had  sent  out  from  their  presses  numerous  translations  in  different  tongues  of 
the  Word  of  God,  so  that  one  is  astounded  at  their  wonderful  industry,  bold- 
ness, and  energy.  Others,  like  them,  were  endeavoring  to  give  the  Bible  to 
those  among  whom  they  were  toiling.  Up  to  this  time  the  British  and  Foreign 
Bible  Society  had  aided  directly  or  indirectly  in  the  printing  or  distributing  of 
reprints  in  forty  languages  or  dialects,  five  re-translations,  and  Bibles,  or  por- 
tions of  them,  in  fifty-six  new  languages  or  dialects.  They  were  also  assisting 
in  the  translation  of  the  Scriptures  into  other  tongues. 

A    GREAT   ADVANCE. 

There  has  been  a  great  advance  in  Protestant  nations  within  the  last  half 
century  in  spiritual  life,  material  wealth,  philanthropic  endeavor,  and  missionary 
effort.     Population  has  also  largely  increased,  and  the  position  held  by  Prot- 


12 

estant  powers  in  controlling  nations  is  foremost.  The  number  of  com- 
municants in  evangelical  churches  is  much  larger  to-day  in  proportion  to 
population,  than  at  any  time  in  their  history.  Our  country  has  made  wonder- 
ful strides  in  the  development  of  her  resources  and  in  material  and  spiritual 
progress.  The  same  may  be  said,  though  perhaps  not  to  the  same  extent,  of 
Great  Britain,  and  also  of  Germany.  These  are  the.  three  great  missionary 
powers  in  the  earth.  In  the  first  are  to-day  thirteen  distinct  ecclesiastical 
organizations,  North  and  South ;  in  Great  Britain  there  are  twenty-four,  and 
in  Germany  nine  leading  societies;  of  these,  eleven  only  were  in  existence  in 
1825.  Besides  these,  are  many  local  and  subsidiary  institutions  to  aid  the 
cause  in  some  particular  branch.  Counting  these  and  all  that  are  found  in 
other  portions  of  Protestant  Christendom,  and  there  are  166  distinct  mission- 
ary organizations,  besides  twenty  leading  Bible  and  educational  societies  aux- 
iliary in  some  form  to  this  great  movement. 

Beginning  in  our  survey  of  the  present  condition  of  missions  with  Africa, 
we  find  that  the  northern  portion  is  still  untouched  by  the  missionary,  being 
wholly  Mohammedan.  This  power  is  showing  an  aggressive  spirit  in  Central 
Africa  where  it  is  making  conquests  to  Islam. 

The  western  coast  from  Morocco  to  Senegal  is  inhabited  by  Moorish  tribes. 
From  Senegal  to  the  coast  of  Guinea,  three  strong  races,  the  Jaloofs,  Manding- 
oes  and  Foulahs,  are  found.  At  Senegal,  Missions  begin  and  along  the  coast 
down  to  Liberia,  we  have  a  portion  of  country  mainly  under  British  protec- 
tion. In  Gambia  and  at  Sierra  Leone,  the  Wesleyan,  Church  Missionary,  and 
the  native  Church  have  established  strong  Missions,  and  here  are  found  some 
14,000  members,  7,500  scholars,  and  fifty-two  ministers,  native  and  foreign. 
These  have  not  been  gained  without  great  sacrifice  of  life.  Nobler  self- 
devotion  aud  truer  Christian  heroism  have  not  been  displayed  anywhere  than 
on  the  western  coast  of  Africa.  All  who  went  thither  under  the  care  of  the 
Church  Missionary  Society  for  the  first  ten  years  were  Germans;  then  came 
the  English,  and  as  one  and  another  died  from  the  fatal  effects  of  the  climate, 
others  were  ready  to  take  their  places.  Thirty  Europeans  died  in  the  first 
twelve  years  of  this  Mission.  Out  of  seventeen  missionaries  sent  out,  the 
Basle  Society  lost  ten  in  one  year.  In  these  latter  days  there  is  much  less 
mortality  among  the  new  recruits. 

South  of  Sierra  Leone  we  reach  Liberia,  where  some  18,000  of  Americo- 
LibL-rians  are  found,  and  a  very  large  number  of  natives  who  are  heathen, 
amounting  to  at  least  300,000.  With  some  of  these  the  Government  is  at 
present  in  conflict,  the  issue  of  which,  if  war  should  continue,  no  man  can  fore- 
tell. In  the  colony  there  are  about  4,000  communicants.  Along  the  Gold 
Coast,  and  taking  in  the  whole  of  northern  Guinea,  are  interesting  Missions  of 
our  own  Church,  the  United  Presbyterians  of  Scotland,  the  Wesleyans,  the 
Church  Missionary  Society,  the  Basle,  and  the  Baptist  Societies.  One  of  the 
Missions  is  wholly  composed  of  native  preachers  under  the  superintendence  of 
a  native  Bishop.     There  are  over  7,000  communicants  connected  with  the  dif- 


13 

ferent  churches,  and  in  the  schools  are  4,000  children.  The  Bible  has  been 
translated  in  whole  or  in  part  into  fifteen  different  languages. 

In  South  Africa  the  greatest  conquests  have  been  made  ;  much  of  this  region 
is  under  the  sway  of  Great  Britain,  and  to  it  many  of  the  British  Societies  have 
directed  their  attention.  The  population  of  South  Africa,  south  of  18°  south 
latitude  is  computed  at  2,000,000.  In  Cape  Colony,  Kaffirland,  Griqualand, 
Basutuland,  Natal,  Transvaal  Region,  among  the  Namaquas,  the  Matabele, 
and  Bechnana  tribes,  are  450  foreign  laborers,  and  ninety  native  ministers, 
with  a  large  number  of  lay  agents.  There  are  about  40,000  communicants 
in  the  churches,  and  over  45,000  children  in  the  schools. 

The  mission  to  Abyssinia  has  been  twice  broken  up.  In  Egypt  the  most 
prosperous  mission  belongs  to  the  American  United  Presbyterian,  whose  labors 
are  largely  among  the  Copts.  They  have  8  stations ;  6  foreign,  and  2  ordained 
native  ministers;  596  communicants;  and  in  the  different  schools,  1,170 
children. 

The  German  Crishona  Mission,  which  endeavored  to  plant  twelve  important 
stations  along  the  Nile,  called  after  the  twelve  apostles,  has  been  abandoned. 

New  fields  in  Africa  are  opening ;  new  attempts  made  to  reach  the  interior, 
and  more  determined  efforts  to  break  up  the  nefarious  slave  trade  which  is 
carried  on  still  in  sections  of  the  country.  Marked  changes  have  taken  place 
in  vast  portions  of  Africa,  the  harbinger  of  still  better  days.  Mr.  Moffatt's 
labors  covered  a  period  of  more  than  half  a  century.  He  said  that  for  many 
years  after  beginning  his  work,  he  and  his  associates  saw  not  the  conversion 
of  a  single  individual ;  for  years  they  had  only  one  ;  but  now  wherever  they 
would  go  they  would  meet  with  companies  of  believers.  Life  at  one  time  was 
not  safe  half  a  dozen  miles  from  the  station  ;  now  men  could  travel  anywhere 
without  fear  of  molestation.  Instead  of  a  solitary  station  which  he  once  occu- 
pied, he  left  a  number  of  central  stations,  extending  more  than  three  hundred 
miles  beyond  the  Kuruman  ;  and  instead  of  a  race  of  illiterate  savages,  found 
by  him,  there  was  a  people  appreciating  and  cultivating  the  arts  and  habits  of 
civilized  life,  with  a  written  language  of  their  own,  in  which  they  could  read  the 
whole  Bible. 

If  such  changes  are  worthy  of  mention,  still  more  marked  has  been  the 
religious  revolution  that  has  taken  place  in  Madagascar.  In  P625  there  were 
very  few  converts.  The  field  then  had  been  occupied  only  six  years.  After 
this  came  persecution,  the  expulsion  of  the  missionaries,  and  martyrdom  of 
certain  Christians.  Now  the  whole  land  is  open  to  the  missionary  ;  idolatry 
is  overthrown  ;  and  Christianity  is  proclaimed  to  be  the  religion  of  the  people. 
In  the  churches  gathered  by  the  London  Missionary  Society  according  to  the 
last  report,  are  63,896.  The  Propagation  Society,  the  Norwegian  Mission- 
ary Society,  and  the  Society  of  Friends,  are  laboring  at  different  centres. 

In  the  island  of  Mauritius,  and  principally  among  the  coolies  from  Bengal 
and  Southern  India,  the  Episcopal  Church  of  England  is  laboring  through  its 
two  leading  institutions  ;  the  membership  reported  is  333.    In  these  two  islands 


H 

— Madagascar  and  Mauritius — are  65  missionaries;  292  native  ministers;  and 
65,000  communicants.  Respecting  the  state  of  things  in  Madagascar,  the  last 
report  of  the  London  Missionary  Society  says  :  "  While  the  spirit  of  inquiry 
has  spread  so  widely  in  the  Central  Provinces,  and  while  even  in  these  se- 
cluded districts  the  willing  zeal  of  Christian  converts  helps  both  to  maintain 
Christian  life  and  to  extend  its  influence,  the  Directors  recognize  with  pleasure 
the  power  which  the  gospel  exerts  upon  the  upper  classes  of  Malagasy 
society.  It  can  never  cease  to  be  a  matter  for  wonder  and  thankfulness,  that 
in  a  country  in  which  but  fifteen  years  ago  idolatry  was  master,  in  which  the 
ruler,  her  chief  ministers,  and  all  her  principal  officers  were  earnest  in  main- 
taining idolatry,  the  idols  and  diviners  should  have  wholly  disappeared  ;  and 
that  those  who  guide  the  public  affairs  of  the  little  State  should  joyfully,  but 
humbly,  accept  and  follow  the  gospel  for  themselves." 

EUROPE. 

In  1825,  the  Pope,  as  we  have  seen,  was  thundering  from  the  Vatican  against 
Bible  Societies  and  the  wicked  practices  of  Protestants  in  circulating  tracts 
and  religious  literature  in  certain  Catholic  countries.  Every  portion  of  Eu- 
rope over  which  he  had  control  was  closed  to  all  Protestant  propagandism, 
and  the  "faithful"  were  warned  against  their  wiles.  The  successor  of  the 
Head  of  the  Church  at  that  time,  is  following  his  example,  but  how  different 
his  position  and  the  relations  he  sustains  to  different  governments.  Hear  his 
wailings  in  September  last : 

"In  Italy  the  churches  and  religious  communities  have  been  despoiled,  the 
bishops  have  been  driven  from  their  homes,  and  the  license  of  the  press  has 
been  more  and  more  scandalous  ;  protection  and  power  are  assured  to  the 
apostates,  the  Catholic  schools  are  closed,  in  order  that  the  teachers  may  be 
replaced  by  persons  selected  by  the  Government  to  inculcate  falsehood  and 
error,  in  order  that  the  sect  may  extend  its  sphere  of  action.  After  having 
robbed  the  convents,  they  now  wish  to  put  their  hands  on  the  funds  of  the 
charitable  institutions — that  is,  on  the  property  of  the  poor,  the  sick,  and  the 
infirm,  and  on  the  institutions  established  for  the  purposes  of  Christian  educa- 
tion. They  go  further  still,  they  drive  the  bishops  from  their  homes  under  the 
pretext  that  they  have  not  accomplished  the  requirements  of  the  law,  and 
whilst  they  are  reduced  to  a  terrible  condition  of  misery,  the  small  incomes 
which  we  pay  them  out  of  the  funds  furnished  us  by  the  faithful,  are  heavily 
taxed.  Would  to  God  that  the  Church  could  be  assisted  in  this  terrible  state 
of  affairs,  but  unfortunately,  not  one  of  the  governments  comes  to  our  help. 
All  abandon  her  under  some  pretext  or  other,  and  several  join  in  the  persecu- 
tion she  receives  from  Italy.  We  behold  a  northern  empire  [Russia]  study 
every  possible  means  to  destroy  the  Catholic  religion.  Another  empire  [Ger- 
many], more  recently  established,  endeavors  within  the  limits  of  its  territory 
to  annihilate  the  Church.  All  the  world  is  aware  of  the  persecution  which  is 
going  on  in  several  cantons  of  Switzerland.      K  we  cross  the  seas  we  shall  find 


15 

in  America,  States  where  Masonry  is  directing  frightful  blows  against  the 
Church  of  God,  by  imprisoning  bishops  and  priests  and  religious  of  both  sexes, 
by  depriving  them  of  their  revenues,  and  even  by  exiling  them." 

Then  the  Pope  had  unlimited  sway  in  every  Papal  country,  and  especially 
in  Italy  ;  now  he  is  deprived  of  all  secular  power,  and  considers  himself  a  prisoner 
in  Rome.  Then  he  was  enabled  to  keep  out  the  Word  of  God  from  all  parts 
of  his  dominions  ;  now  his  eye  rests  upon  a  Bible  Depository  as  he  looks  from 
the  Vatican  ;  then  his  word  was  law  in  Austria,  Italy,  Belgium,  Spain,  etc. ;  now 
he  has  no  power  to  enforce  his  decrees,  and  they  have  no  power  upon  the  dif- 
ferent governments  to  change  their  policy  or  interfere  with  religious  liberty. 
Every  country  then  closed  to  Protestant  effort  is  to-day  opened  to  the  same. 
The  reaction  in  Spain  is  only  momentary.  True  progress  has  been  made 
everywhere  in  independence  of  thought  and  action  and  in  the  rights  of  con- 
science, and  also  in  the  enlightenment  of  the  masses.  It  is  true,  however, 
that  ignorance  prevails  to  a  fearful  extent  in  certain  kingdoms.  Of  the 
26,801,154,  the  population  of  Italy,  19,553, 792  are  unable  to  read  and  write. 
Praiseworthy  efforts  are  now  making  to  remove  this  stain,  which  has  been 
increased  by  the  annexation  of  the  Two  Sicilies.  The  treatment  by  the  Gov- 
ernment of  the  Waldenses  is  very  different  from  what  it  was  in  1825.  Then 
they  were  hemmed  in  their  narrow  valleys,  now  the  whole  of  Italy  is  before 
them  ;  then  they  were  persecuted,  now  they  are  free  ;  then  they  were  a  prey 
to  the  Romish  Church,  that  sought  to  proselytize  the  young  and  the  old,  now 
they  have  sent  forth  their  evangelists,  who  are  laboring  in  different  portions  of 
the  kingdom,  and  already  their  number  is  smaller  in  their  ancient  fastnesses 
than  in  their  mission  fields. 

The  liberal  policy  of  the  Government  in  Austria  towards  Protestant  efforts 
has  made  great  advances  ;  the  same  was  true  of  the  Government  in  Spain, 
until  the  present  dynasty.  In  Ireland,  in  1825,  the  Protestant  population 
stood  to  the  Roman  Catholic  as  three  to  thirteen  ;  now  it  is  as  one  to  three. 
In  1801  twenty-seven  per  cent,  of  the  population  of  Great  Britain  and  Ireland 
was  Catholic ;  now  only  fourteen  per  cent.  In  Belgium  liberty  of  worship  is 
guaranteed  to  all. 

Direct  evangelistic  work  has  been  begun  in  each  country  that  was  formerly 
barred  to  Protestant  effort.  In  Portugal  and  Spain,  in  Italy,  Austria,  and  Bel- 
gium, various  missionary  bodies  have  their  representatives.  Some  of  whom  are 
beginning  to  meet  with  decided  success. 

The  resistance  of  the  Old  Catholics  to  Papal  Infallibility,  etc.,  and  their 
independent  movement  to  maintain  and  diffuse  a  truer  faith  among  the  people, 
is  worthy  of  notice.  Though  it  has  not  aggregated  anywhere  a  vast  number, 
still  the  influence  of  its  leaders  and  the  readiness  in  places  to  respond  to  their 
call,  show  a  dissatisfaction  with  Romanism  as  it  is.  A  French  writer,  in  con- 
trasting Roman  Catholicism  and  Protestantism  in  their  relation  to  the  liberty 
and  prosperity  of  nations,  says  :  "  The  nations  subject  to  Rome  have  no  power 
of  expansion.    Their  past  is  brilliant,  but  their  present  is  dark  and  their  future 


i6 

disquieting Two  centuries  ago  the  supremacy  belonged  to  the  Catho- 
lics. To-day  place  on  one  side  France,  Austria,  Spain,  Italy,  and  South 
America,  and  on  the  other  Russia,  Germany,  England,  and  North  America, 
evidently  the  predominance  has  passed  over  to  the  heretics." 

Russia  tolerates  within  her  borders  no  foreign  missionary.  The  Govern- 
ment is  opposed  to  all  evangelical  and  evangelistic  labor.  The  Greek  Church 
under  it  is  as  exclusive  and  antagonistic  to  Protestant  effort  as  Rome  has  ever 
been.  In  this  respect  Russia  has  stood  still  in  the  last  half  century,  and  is  the 
only  European  nation  that  has  not  made  progress  in  true  religious  toleration. 
The  feeling  of  Russia  was  expressed  by  one  of  her  generals  to  an  American 
missionary,  who  said,  "  If  our  Government  should  take  possession  of  Turkey, 
every  missionary  would  be  sent  out  of  the  country,  for  Russia  will  not  tolerate 
any  proselytizing  within  her  dominions." 

Turkey  in  Europe,  Roumania  and  Greece  contain  a  population  of  about 
18,000,000 — composed  mainly  of  Greeks,  Mohammedans,  Roman  Catholics, 
Armenians,  and  Jews.  Among  these  different  sects  missions  have  been  estab- 
lished by  the  American  Board  and  the  American  Methodist  and  Episcopal 
Churches  ;  the  Church  and  Propagation  Societies ;  the  London  Society  for  the 
Jews,  etc.  The  influence  of  the  American  Board  for  good  has  been  the  great- 
est, though  the  number  of  converts  is  comparatively  small. 

We  have  not  noticed  in  this  survey  the  labors  of  the  American  Methodist 
and  Baptist  organizations  in  Protestant  countries  in  Europe  to  revive  spiritual- 
ity among  the  people  and  churches,  that  had  lost  their  evangelical  character. 
In  this  respect  they  have  done  a  good  work.  Our  aim  has  been  rather  to  con- 
sider the  progress  made  among  the  Roman  Catholics  in  bringing  them  to  a 
knowledge  of  a  purer  faith.  In  this  we  have  not  said  much  of  the  political 
changes  in  their  bearings  upon  the  work,  but  no  one  can  measure  the  influence 
of  Bismarck  and  of  the  German  power  in  weakening  Austria  and  France,  and 
in  aiding  to  enlarge  and  consolidate  the  Italian  power,  or  of  the  same  agents 
in  curbing  the  Romish  hierarchy  within  their  dominions.  Since  the  death  of 
Cavour,  Bismarck  by  his  policy,  and  Gladstone  by  his  writings,  have  dealt 
the  heaviest  blows  to  the  Papacy.  These  are  felt,  and  will  aid  powerfully  the 
missionary  work  in  the  future.  As  yet  no  great  harvest  has  been  reaped  in 
numerous  conversions  in  the  countries  mentioned.  The  seed  sown  will  not 
die,  however.  It  has  had  thus  far  to  encounter  not  simply  Romanism  as  held 
by  its  numerous  votaries,  but  scepticism  and  other  evils  allied  to  it,  which  have 
been  created  by  this  system,  and  found  in  all  the  countries  subject  to  the  See 
of  Rome.  Politically,  the  opponents  to  the  Papacy  are  many ;  but  in  their 
hatred  to  a  system  that  has  crushed  their  liberties,  fostered  superstition,  and 
kept  them  in  ignorance,  they  have  not  embraced  with  the  heart  that  faith  which 
can  alone  deliver  them  from  spiritual  tyranny,  and  make  them  free  indeed. 

ASIA. 

This  vast  continent  contains  more  than  one- half  of  the  population  of  the 


i7 

globe.  India  and  China  together,  have  nearly  700,000,000  of  souls.  No 
Christian  nation  exists  on  its  soil.  Here  and  there  are  found  a  few  corrupt 
sects  of  nominal  Christians,  but  not  one  of  them  holding  a  pure  faith  or  striv- 
ing for  its  extension.  In  these  latter  days  some  of  their  adherents  have  been 
vivified  through  the  truth  by  the  power  of  the  Holy  Spirit  on  missionary  labor, 
so  that  they  have  returned  to  the  doctrines  once  held  by  their  fathers  ;  but  with 
this  exception,  from  the  Mediterranean  to  the  Pacific,  over  all  its  broad 
domain,  heathenism  in  varied  forms,  or  Mohammedanism  as  embraced  by  the 
Shiites  and  Sunnites,  hitherto  hold  its  countless  masses  in  the  direst  servitude. 
These  have  exerted  a  benumbing  influence  on  mind  and  heart,  debasing  family 
relations,  affecting  injuriously  social  life,  creating  despotisms,  political  and 
religious,  and  crushing  out  true  manliness,  or  independence  of  thought  and 
effort. 

In  1825  the  missionary  was  only  in  four  distinct  fields  in  Asia — in  Syria,  in 
India,  and  Ceylon  and  in  the  Indian  Archipelago.  The  work  in  Bur m ah  was 
arrested,  and  along  the  Black  and  Caspian  Seas  it  was  fettered  and  then  de- 
stroyed. Turkey,  Persia,  North-western  India,  Siam,  China,  Japan,  have  all 
been  opened,  and  in  them  hundreds  of  missionaries  have  been  at  work,  and 
in  each  has  the  gospel  shown  its  wondrous  power. 

The  first  efforts  in  Turkey  were  directed  to  the  corrupt  Oriental  churches. 
These  churches  had  lost  the  great  distinctive  principles  of  Christianity,  and 
were  in  doctrine  and  in  morals  no  higher  than  the  followers  of  the  false 
prophet.  To  reach  Mohammedans  with  the  gospel,  they  must  first  see  its 
superiority  among  those  who  professed  it.  Until  this  were  done,  it  was  believed 
that  but  little  headway  could  be  made  among  the  dominant  classes,  who 
regarded  the  Koran  as  being  not  only  better,  but  having  displaced  the  religion 
of  Jesus.  Another  obstacle  in  the  way  of  their  conversion  to  Christianity  was 
the  death-penalty.  Apostasy  among  Moslems  was  death.  First  in  Syria,  then 
in  other  portions  of  Turkey,  the  missionary  work  was  inaugurated.  The  ad- 
verse influences  with  which  the  early  laborers  had  to  contend  were  strong  and 
active  ;  an  absolute  and  intolerant  power,  a  bigoted  and  unscrupulous  hierarchy, 
an  ignorant  and  priest-ridden  people  were  leagued  against  them,  each  looking 
upon  their  presence  as  a  menace  and  a  wrong  to  the  established  order  of 
things,  and  seeking  their  overthrow.  However  much  many  of  the  sects  were 
opposed  to  each  other,  they  were  always  friends  when  opposing  a  purer 
Christianity,  and  the  efforts  of  its  ambassadors.  Steadily  and  prudently  did 
the  missionaries  hold  their  ground  and  prosecute  their  work,  and  steadily  have 
they  advanced  from  one  position  to  another,  until  they  are  found  in  all  parts 
of  the  Turkish  Empire.  In  due  time  they  were  permitted  to  witness  a  great 
religious  movement  among  the  Armenians,  and  to  see  barrier  after  barrier 
removed  that  stood  in  the  way  of  the  truth.  The  Janissaries,  the  great  ene- 
mies to  reform,  were  destroyed.  Reforms  of  various  kinds  were  introduced 
affecting  social  and  political  relations  ;  security  to  life  and  property  have  been 
guaranteed.     The  Christian,   the   Moslem,  and   the  Jew,   are  placed  on  the 


iS 

same  footing,  as  regards  civil  rights  and  law.  The  converts  to  an  Evangelical 
faith  have  been  constituted  into  a  distinct  community,  and  have  the  same 
privileges  with  all  the  other  religious  communities.  The  death  penalty  for 
apostasy  from  Islam  has  been  abolished.  Other  changes,  if  not  so  marked  as 
these,  yet  contrary  to  the  genius  and  teachings  of  the  Koran,  have  been  intro- 
duced— all  aiding  in  the  diffusion  of  the  gospel  or  opening  up  a  way  for  it.  In 
Western,  Central,  and  Eastern  Turkey,  the  American  Board  has  strong  and 
prosperous  Missions.  The  Church  Missionary  Society  is  laboring  in  Palestine, 
the  Jewish  and  some  smaller  British  and  Continental  Societies  are  also  at  work 
at  different  points.  In  Syria,  the  Presbyterian  Board,  the  American  United 
Presbyterian  Church,  etc.,  are  endeavoring  to  reach  the  people  with  the  gos- 
pel. There  are  over  5,000  communicants  gathered  into  churches,  which  are 
receiving  steady  accessions  from  the  corrupt  sects  or  from  Mussulmans. 

From  Turkey  we  pass  over  into  Persia,  and  find  a  people  akin  to  the  Turks 
in  their  religion — though  both  are  Mohammedans,  the  one  are  Sunis,  the  other 
Shias — of  all  the  nations  in  the  world,  it  is  said  that  Persia  is  the  only  one  that 
never  worshipped  graven  images  of  any  kind.  Whilst  the  mass  of  the  people  are 
Mohammedans,  there  are  also  sects  sprung  from  Islam — the  Saris,  the  Daoodies, 
and  the  Babs.  Besides  these,  there  are  the  Fire  Worshippers,  and  the  Nesto- 
rians,  with  a  small  number  of  Jews  and  Armenians.  There  is  more  freedom  of 
inquiry  and  discussion  in  Persia  than  in  Turkey,  but  as  the  Koran  is  the  law  of 
the  land,  it  tolerates  no  forsaking  of  its  precepts  or  conversion  to  any  other 
creed.  Death  to  apostates  is  its  penalty.  A  little  more  than  forty  years  ago  the 
American  Board  made  the  first  attempt  to  reach  the  Nestorians  with  the  gospel, 
for  the  same  reasons  as  their  Mission  in  Turkey  was  first  directed  to  the  Arme- 
nians. For  a  long  time  efforts  were  made  to  galvanize  the  dead  Nestorian 
Church  into  spiritual  life,  but  in  vain.  Then  the  laborers  sought  to  organize  a 
Church  outside  of  it.  In  the  endeavor  to  bring  the  people  under  the  power  of 
divine  truth,  the  missionaries  had  to  contend',  not  only  with  the  opposition  of 
the  rulers  and  the  priesthood,  but  also  with  the  Jesuits,  who  by  their  intrigues 
had  an  order  passed  "that  no  native  Christian  should  be  proselytized  from  one 
Christian  sect  to  another."  The  Government  has,  on  different  occasions, 
manifested  hostile  feelings,  and  desired  to  shut  up  the  schools,  or  to  interfere 
with  the  work,  but  these  came  to  naught.  To-day,  the  Mission  is  not  only 
extending,  but  seems  firmly  rooted  in  Persian  soil.  It  has  outlived  the  old  idea, 
as  being  only  for  the  Nestorians.  Evangelistic  labor  is  now  for  Mohamme- 
dans, as  for  Nestorians,  and  Armenians.  Among  Moslems  there  is  much 
unrest.  Great  numbers  are  sighing  for  religious  liberty,  and  not  a  few  are 
secretly  reading  the  Bible.  The  Government  is  throwing  no  obstacles  in  the 
way,  The  people  are  everywhere  accessible.  The  Moslems  who  have  been 
baptized  have  not  been  molested  by  the  authorities.  Since  the  Mission  began, 
the  Nestorians  have  made  great  progress  in  religious  knowledge  and  in  material 
prosperity.  They  are  now  treated  very  differently  by  their  rulers.  Besides 
our  own  Mission,  the  Church  Missionary  Society  has  a  laborer  at  Ispahan,  who 


19 

has  baptized  several  converts.    Some  of  the  churches  have  reached  self-support. 
The  number  enrolled  in  the  different  organizations  is  over  800. 

India  was  one  of  the  earliest  mission  fields  of  the  Church.  The  presence 
and  rule  of  a  Christian  nation  in  the  land  gave  great  protection  at  the  outset 
to  Christian  teachers.  The  stability  of  the  Government  gave  stability  to 
evangelistic  operations.  They  were  not  dependent  upon  the  caprice  of  the 
rulers,  but  upon  law  and  order;  and  these  principles  of  action  and  guidance 
have  come  more  and  more  into  sympathy  with  religious  truth.  In  no  land  has 
there  been  such  a  combination  of  agents  and  agencies  to  overthrow  supersti- 
tion, and  nowhere  has  the  gospel  encountered  so  much  indifference  or  marked 
hostility.  It  has  had  to  meet  the  most  gigantic  system  of  moral  evil,  "  the 
grandest  embodiment  of  Gentile  error"  the  world  has  ever  seen.  But  it  has  had 
not  only  to  encounter  Brahminism  suited  to  every  order  of  mind,  to  every  desire 
of  the  fallen  heart,  and  to  every  shade  of  belief;  but  Mohammedanism,  which 
has  been  imbedded  in  the  moral  nature  of  millions,  has  been  a  political  and 
religious  power  for  centuries,  and  which  hates  Christianity  with  the  utmost 
virulence.  It  has  had  to  contend  with  caste — the  master  device  of  Satan — 
in  tyrannizing  over  the  weak,  destroying  social  life,  and  whose  ramifications 
are  felt  in  every  form  of  society,  controlling  law  and  usage.  It  has  had  to 
resist  the  wicked  example  and  immoralities  of  a  European  civilization  called 
Christian,  and  whose  influence  upon  the  native  life  has  been  evil.  It  has 
had  to  battle  with  infidelity,  introduced  or  fostered  by  Governmental  ideas  of 
toleration,  and  a  godless  system  of  education  among  the  educated  classes. 
These  and  kindred  obstacles,  though  varied,  have  been  strong  and  bitter  ; 
steadily,  however,  has  the  contest  gone  on,  and  to-day  Christianity  occupies 
a  vantage  ground  never  before  possessed. 

We  have  seen  its  weakness  in  1825.  To-day  the  missionary  work  is  carried 
on  in  India  and  Ceylon  by  35  missionary  societies,  besides  local  agencies.  In 
the  different  Presidencies  are  500  ordained  missionaries,  occupying  more  than 
400  stations  and  over  2,000  sub-stations,  the  latter  chiefly  manned  by  native 
laborers.  Though  this  number  is  great,  yet  India  proper  contains  240,000,000, 
and  the  whole  number,  including  all  the  dependencies,  is  over  280,000.000. 
There  are  many  important  towns  and  cities  where  no  laborer  is  found,  and 
many  a  place  where  the  gospel  has  never  been  proclaimed.  Besides  the  Brit- 
ish and  Continental  Societies,  that  are  seeking  the  spiritual  elevation  of  India, 
there  are  nine  American  organizations  represented  in  that  land. 

The  statistical  tables  that  have  been  prepared  for  each  decade  in  the  last 
thirty  years,  show  some  of  the  gathered  fruits  of  the  work.  They  exhibit  only 
the  number  of  the  converts,  however,  at  a  given  time,  but  make  no  mention 
of  those  who  have  died  in  the  faith,  or  the  large  number  of  hidden  ones  who 
have  not  been  baptized.  These  returns  take  in  India,  Ceylon,  and  Burmah, 
and  are  for  the  years  1852,  1862,  1872.  Placing  them  together,  we  have  the 
following : 


20 


Native  Commu- 

Ch  ristia  ns.  n  icants. 

1852 128,000  22,400 

1862 213,182  49,688 

1872 3^,363  78,494 

These  are  decided  gains,  and  show  the  permeating  influence  of  the  truth.  They 
condemn  the  work  of  Abbe  Dubois  issued  in  1823,  who,  after  thirty-two  years 
labors  in  India,  confessed  that  he  had  failed  in  making  one  sincere  convert, 
and  who  sought  to  prove  that  the  conversion  of  the  Hindoos  is  impracticable, 
and  that  their  day  is  forever  past.  The  successes  the  last  year  or  two  are  pro- 
portionately much  greater  than  those  mentioned  ;  the  additions  to  the  Churches 
for  1874-75  were  over  7,000,  and  the  relative  gains  to  Christianity  is  propor- 
tionately larger  than  to  either  Hindooism  or  Mohammedanism.  Thus  the 
growth  in  the  Madras  Presidency  of  the  three  great  religions  has  been  since 
1856,  Christians  51  per  cent,  increase,  Mohammedans  $$,  Hindoos  37. 

Education  in  India  has  greatly  improved.  The  Government  is  devoting 
more  attention  to  it,,  and  is  aiding  it  by  grants  to  mission  schools.  In  1852  the 
scholars  in  these  schools  numbered  81,850,  and  in  1872,  142,952.  The  Hin- 
doos and  Mussulmans  are  seeking  instruction  for  their  daughters,  and  in  the 
different  schools  there  are  about  30,000  girls.  Zenana  schools  are  being 
established  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  and  zenanas  are  now  open  to  the 
efforts  of  women  that  were  formerly  barred  to  all  such  endeavors. 

There  has  been  a  wonderful  increase  in  the  productions  of  the  Press.  In  the 
first  twenty-five  years  of  this  century  very  few  works  left  the  native  press.  As 
educational  facilities  were  embraced  by  the  people,  the  demand  for  books 
enlarged,  so  that  in  1854  Calcutta  alone  had  46  printing  offices  engaged  in 
printing  Bengali  works.  The  Mission  printing  presses  issued,  between  1852 
and  1862,  1,634,940  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  and  8,604,033  tracts  and  books. 
From  1862  to  1872  they  issued  3,410  new  works  in  thirty  languages  ;  circu- 
lated 1,315,503  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  2,375,040  schools  books,  and  8,750,- 
129  Christian  books  and  tracts. 

These  results  of  missionary  labor  are  great  and  wonderful,  but  other  changes 
through  the  pressure  of  Christian  sentiment,  and  the  power  of  truth,  have 
taken  place.  In  1825  the  Government  abetted  idolatry,  and  sought  no  alli- 
ance with  Christianity.  It  husbanded  the  endowments  of  temples  and  mosques  ; 
it  supplied  funds  from  its  treasury  for  repairing  temples  and  roads  to  sacred 
places  ;  it  taxed  pilgrims,  and  endowed  schools  for  the  teaching  of  error  and 
superstition.  Then  infanticide  abounded ;  Suttees  flourished ;  bloody  rites 
were  practiced.  Then  no  Christian  convert  could  obtain  his  rights  in  regard 
to  property.  These  and  kindred  evils  existed.  Now  all  is  changed.  Gov- 
ernment protects  and  aids  missionary  operations ;  it  has  cut  itself  loose  from 
all  connection  with  idolatry  ;  infanticide  is  declared  a  criminal  act ;  Suttee  is 
prohibited ;  and  cruel  rites  have  been  forbidden.  The  Koran  and  the  Ganges 
water  are  banished  from  the  courts  of  justice.  Converts  are  protected  in 
their  rights,  and  the  legal  validity  of  widows  re-marrying  is  proclaimed.   Hindoo- 


21 

ism  is  losing  its  hold  upon  the  many,  and  the  idea  is  growing  that  it  must  dis- 
appear under  the  power  of  Christianity.  There  is  an  enlarging  circle  that  has 
broken  with  Brahminism,  though  not  yet  yielding  openly  to  the  religion  of 
Jesus.  Signs  of  improvement — material,  social,  intellectual,  and  moral — fill  the 
land.  The  natives  are  awakening  from  the  sleep  of  ages  ;  the  desire  for  sound 
knowledge  is  growing.  Caste  is  relaxing.  Stereotyped  customs  that  have 
been  more  powerful  than  law,  are  disappearing.  A  knowledge  of  the  Bible  is 
spreading,  and  its  precepts  are  becoming  more  influential,  and  the  truth  is 
working  wonders  among  the  aborigines,  who  never  yielded  to  Hindoo  or 
Mohammedan  influence,  but  are  now  accepting  joyfully  the  doctrines  of  the 
Cross. 

Christianity  has  obtained  a  firm  footing.  Its  ambassadors  are  alive  to  the 
importance  of  its  dissemination,  and  are  increasing  in  numbers  and  skill.  Na- 
tive churches  have  been  planted  all  over  the  land,  and  these  are  becoming 
more  potential  for  good.  This  is  India  of  to-day.  How  different  from  India 
even  of  1825. 

The  statistics  of  Burmah  have  been  given  in  the  figures  already  presented. 
What  a  difference  between  that  country  half  a  century  ago  and  at  this  time. 
Then  Judson  and  his  companion  were  imprisoned,  and  not  a  missionary  in 
the  country  at  liberty  to  preach.  The  few  converts  were  scattered,  and  none 
to  minister  to  them.  Since  that  period,  the  jungles  of  Burmah  have  given  to 
Christ  thousands  of  precious  souls.  "  A  little  one  has  become  a  thousand." 
It  is  literally  true  that  for  every  convert  then,  there  is  more  than  a  thousand 
to-day. 

The  first  attempts  to  reach  the  Siamese  with  the  gospel  accomplished  but 
little.  The  Mission  of  the  American  Board  before  it  was  able  to  reap  much 
fruit  was  transferred  to  China.  The  laborers  of  the  Presbyterian  Board  had 
done  but  little  when  the  king  determined  on  an  exclusive  policy,  and  the  mis- 
sionaries were  unable  to  obtain  any  site  for  a  building.  The  death  of  the 
monarch  opened  up  a  way  for  the  continuance  of  the  work.  The  only  Board 
engaged  in  direct  labor  among  the  Siamese  and  the  Laos  is  our  own.  The 
American  Baptist  Union  continues  its  Mission  to  the  Chinese,  and  like  the 
Presbyterian  Mission,  has  been  meeting  of  late  with  greater  encouragement. 
This  field,  owing  to  various  influences,  has  not  been  a  productive  one  ;  the  last 
year  has  been  the  richest  in  the  ingathering  of  souls,  more  having  been  bap- 
tized than  in  the  first  fifteen  or  twenty  years  of  the  Mission.  The  bright  pros- 
pects of  the  work  among  the  Laos  which  marked  its  early  history  have  been 
beclouded  by  persecution.  The  seed  is,  however,  sown  by  faithful  men,  and 
will  in  due  time  repay  the  labors  of  the  husbandmen. 

China,  in  1825,  was  virtually  locked  against  all  approach  by  the  Missionary 
as  such,  and  at  that  time  there  was  not  a  laborer  on  its  soil.  In  1830  Rev. 
E.  C.  Bridgman  arrived  at  Canton  as  a  missionary  of  the  American  Board. 
He  first  devoted  his  time  to  study.  Mr.  Gutzlaff,  a  Prussian  in  the  service  of 
the  Netherlands  Missionary  Society,  entered  China  in  native  costume,  dis- 


22 

tributed  Christian  books,  etc.  Scattered  efforts  like  his  were  made  here  and 
there  along  the  coast  until  the  opening  of  the  five  ports  in  1842,  when  the  dif- 
ferent Societies  that  had  been  engaged  in  evangelistic  work  for  the  Chinese  in 
the  European  settlements  nearest  to  her  shores,  moved  most  of  their  work  and 
workers  to  China.  These  ports  were  increased  in  number  by  subsequent 
treaties,  so  that  at  present  it  may  be  said  that  China  is  fully  open  to  the  gospel, 
and  that  she  has  become  wholly  identified  with  the  great  family  of  nations  in 
commercial  relations,  etc.  When  her  ports  were  open  to  the  heralds  of  salva- 
tion, the  Church  seemed  to  recognize  her  new  responsibilities,  and  to  be  pre- 
pared to  throw  in  a  large  force  of  laborers.  Subsequent  action  has  not  justi- 
fied these  large  expectations.  Still  a  goodly  force  of  noble  men  and  women  is 
now  found  at  many  leading  points  who  are  seeking  by  the  appliances  at  com- 
mand to  advance  the  people  in  knowledge,  civilization,  and  morals.  For  them 
much  has  been  done  in  the  way  of  translating  the  Scriptures,  not  only  into  the 
Mandarin,  but  into  the  colloquials  of  several  sections.  A  religious  literature 
is  constantly  increasing,  several  important  works  on  scientific  subjects,  on 
history  and  law  have  been  issued,  also  works  purely  educational.  Day  and 
boarding-schools  have  been  established  ;  dispensaries  and  hospitals  are  main- 
tained at  nearly  all  the  ports,  and  the  Scriptures  have  been  circulated  in  fifteen 
of  the  eighteen  Provinces.  Here,  as  in  other  Mission  fields,  obstacles  many 
and  varied  have  been  encountered,  but  there  are  some  that  are  distinctive, 
arising  from  the  fearful  apathy  of  the  Chinese  to  religious  truth,  their  pride, 
prejudices  and  superciliousness,  their  aversion  to  change,  and  their  love  of  the 
past,  and  the  depraving  and  fearful  ravages  of  opium,  forced  upon  them  by  a 
Christian  nation.  The  ratio  of  conversions  is  rapidly  increasing — thus  the  native 
Christians  in  1853  numbered  351;  in  1863,  1,974;  in  1868,  5,743,  and  in 
1875,  nearly  12,000.  A  recent  list  of  missionaries,  published  in  China,  gives 
thirty  different  organizations  at  work,  and  almost  200  ordained  evangelists, 
ninety-nine  of  whom  are  from  the  United  States. 

In  the  Indian  Archipelago  and  the  Straits,  in  the  islands  of  Java,  Sumatra, 
Borneo,  Celebes,  the  Malaccas,  etc.,  and  in  the  Straits  settlements,  the  Dutch 
Societies,  the  Rhenish,  Gossners,  and  the  Propagation  Society  are  principally 
engaged  in  Christian  effort.  These  islands  contain  a  population  of  nearly 
25,000,000.  It  is  difficult  to  find  out  the  numbers  connected  with  any  of 
these  organizations.  In  speaking  of  Celebes,  Wallace  in  his  Malay  Archi- 
pelago says:  "The  missionaries  (Netherlands  Missionary  Society)  have  much 
to  be  proud  of  in  this  country  ;  they  have  assisted  the  Government  in  changing 
a  savage  into  a  civilized  community  in  a  wonderfully  short  space  of  time. 
Forty  years  ago  the  country  was  a  wilderness  ;  the  people  naked  savages, 
garnishing  their  rude  homes  with  human  heads.  Now  it  is  a  garden."  In  the 
Malaccas  and  Celebes,  the  Netherlands  Missionary  Society  report  83,800  hear- 
ers, but  gives  no  list  of  communicants.  In  the  other  fields  3,783  are  reported, 
but  the  list  is  imperfect. 

The  great  revolution  that  has  taken  place  in  Japan  is  one  of  the  marvels  of 


23 

the  day.  Thirty  years  ago  it  was  hermetically  sealed.  The  only  nation  that 
had  any  commercial  relations  with  its  rulers  was  the  Dutch,  and  they  were  con- 
fined to  a  few  feet  of  ground.  Since  it  came  into  the. brotherhood  of  nations, 
a  constitutional  form  of  government  has  been  adopted,  with  great  national  im- 
provements, such  as  characterize  the  most  advanced  civilized  nations.  The 
people  are  ready  to  read  the  Holy  Scriptures,  to  hear  the  preaching  of  the 
Word,  to  send  their  children  to  Mission  schools.  The  truth  is  beginning  to 
yield  fruits  in  numerous  converts,  and  those  who  embrace  it  are  generally  of 
a  superior  class.  The  spirit  of  inquiry  and  of  progress  in  the  nation  is  a  help 
to  the  introduction  of  a  Christian  literature.  The  old  edicts  against  Christi- 
anity are  not  formally  repealed  ;  they  are,  however,  practically  set  aside.  We 
have  not  been  able  to  gather  up  the  statistics  of  Church  membership.  They 
number,  however,  500  communicants.  Eleven  Missionary  Societies  have  forty- 
four  ordained  and  four  medical  missionaries. 

POLYNESIA. 

We  pass  by  a  great  Colonial  work  of  the  British  churches,  as  carried  on  in 
Australasia  where  a  new  Empire  is  springing  up.  In  1790  there  was  not  a 
single  civilized  man  on  that  continent  or  in  the  adjacent  islands  of  Tasmania 
and  New  Zealand  ;  now  there  are  2,000,000,  who  are  largely  Protestant.  In 
addition  to  work  among  the  settlers  in  New  Zealand,  the  Church  Missionary 
and  the  Wesleyan  Societies  have  interesting  Missions  among  the  natives.  The 
former  of  these  Societies,  we  have  seen,  was  rejoicing  over  its  first  convert  in 
1825.  It  was  nearly  five  years  before  another  was  baptized.  Others,  after 
this,  soon  followed,  so  that  the  number  of  natives  under  Christian  instruction 
in  1838  was  fully  2,000 ;  in  1842  the  number  was  over  30,000  who  were 
attending  upon  the  ministrations  of  the  missionaries.  The  Wesleyans  were 
also  successful  in  their  labors.  In  1869  a  war  with  the  English  took  place, 
which  was  productive  of  great  loss  of  life  and  much  evil,  so  that  for  a  time  the 
Missions  were  nearly  broken  up.  Better  days  are  again  dawning  upon  the 
work. 

Missions  in  Polynesia  have  been  remarkably  successful.  With  the  excep- 
tion of  a  few  centres  or  islands  like  New  Guinea,  the  Marquesas,  portion  of 
Fiji,  the  people  have  been  brought  under  the  influence,  if  not  power,  of  the 
truth.  More  than  300  islands  of  Southern  and  Eastern  Polynesia  have  thrown 
away  idolatry,  and  this  within  less  than  fifty  years.  The  languages  of  the 
islands  have  been  reduced  to  writing.  In  these  tongues  the  Scriptures  have 
been  translated,  dictionaries  and  grammars  have  been  prepared  and  printed, 
besides  other  works  for  the  enlightenment  and  education  of  the  people.  Much 
of  the  evangelistic  work  accomplished  at  various  points  has  been  done  by 
native  agents.  Civilization  kept  pace  with  the  spiritual  training  of  the  people, 
which  not  only  created  new  wants,  but  produced  articles  for  barter  or  trade ; 
so  that  as  a  consequence  of  Missionary  labor  commerce  is  reaping  a  rich  har- 
vest.    This  has  brought  evil  as  well  as  good  to  the  islanders.     Already  the 


24 

Sandwich  Islands  stand  out  as  a  Christian  nation.  In  them,  and  in  many 
groups,  as  large  a  proportion  of  the  inhabitants  is  connected  with  the  Christian 
Church  as  in  our  own  or  other  lands.  It  is  only  a  short  time  since  the  ruler  of 
Hawaai  was  feted  in  our  own  land,  and  respect  everywhere  shown  him  and 
his  retinue.  What  a  change  since  the  missionaries  asked  the  question  in  view- 
ing the  social  and  moral  degradation  of  the  Islanders — "  Can  these  be  human 
beings  ?"  As  far  as  we  have  been  able  to  gather  up  statistics  from  reports, 
etc.,  the  membership  borders  on  70,000,  with  fully  300,000  adherents. 

AMERICA. 

The  great  Mission  field  of  Protestants  on  this  continent  is  Mexico  and  South 
America  ;  though  much  labor  has  been  bestowed  on  some  of  the  West  India 
Islands  by  the  churches  in  Great  Britain,  another  field  more  limited  as  to 
numbers,  is  that  occupied  by  the  Aborigines  in  the  United  States  and  the 
British  Possessions,  and  the  Chinese  found  chiefly  in  California.  More 
attention  is  given  to  the. Chinese  in  our  country  than  formerly.  For  years 
the  Presbyterian  Board  worked  single-handed  among  them,  but  the  Methodists, 
the  Congregationalists,  etc.,  are  now  laboring  for  their  salvation.  «The  Church 
under  our  care  is  growing  in  numbers  and  in  power.  It  is  doubtful  whether 
the  churches  are  doing  as  much  for  the  evangelization  of  the  Indians  as  they 
did  fifty  years  ago.  The  Government  is,  however,  doing  more  for  their  civili- 
zation through  its  "  Peace  Policy."  The  number  of  communicants  is  much 
greater  than  in  1825,  reaching  to  fully  10,000. 

Several  Societies,  British  and  Canadian,  are  at  work  among  the  Indians  in 
the  British  Possessions,  and  some  of  them,  especially  the  English  Episcopal 
Societies,  and  the  Wesleyans,  have  met  with  much  encouragement.  They  are 
largely  operating  in  the  Hudson  Bay  Territory,  in  British  Columbia,  and  Van- 
couver Island.     The  reports  give  4,220  in  the  list  of  communicants. 

The  population  in  Labrador  and  Greenland  is  small.  The  Moravian  and 
the  Danish  Government  have  ministers  and  missionaries  among  them — Church 
membership  may  reach  1,500. 

The  developments  of  the  work  in  Mexico  are  very  cheering.  For  several 
years  the  American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union  had  a  mission  in  this  repub- 
lic, beginning  at  Monterey,  under  Miss  Rankin,  in  1865,  and  then  another  in 
the  City  of  Mexico.  The  work  lacked  consolidation.  The  Baptist  Home 
Missionary  Society  sent  a  minister  to  Northern  Mexico  in  1870  ;  the  Presby- 
terian Board  in  1872  ;  and  then  the  American  Board  and  the  Methodist  Boards 
North  and  South.  The  work  carried  on  in  Mexico  by  Dr.  Riley,  and  at  other 
points,  is  wholly  Episcopal.  It  will  be — as  it  has  already  proved — a  great 
blessing  to  Mexico  that  these  different  ecclesiastical  organizations  have  com- 
menced operations,  backed  up  as  they  are  by  a  strong  constituency.  The 
efforts  put  forth  have  been  resisted  by  the  bigoted  and  priest-ridden  Romanists 
at  different  places.  A  year  ago  the  Church  at  Acapulco  was  scattered,  and 
several  of  its  members  were  killed  j  but  the  living  went  everywhere  preaching 


25 

the  Word,  and  now  at  twenty-eight  different  points  in  the  State  to  which 
Acapulco  belongs,  there  are  500  Protestants  brought  to  a  knowledge  of 
the  truth  through  these  Christians.  Already  thousands  are  enrolled  as  com- 
municants by  the  different  Societies. 

The  abolition  of  slavery  in  most  of  the  European  Colonies  in  the  West 
Indies,  revolutionized  the  whole  frame-work  of  society,  and  for  a  time  spirit- 
ual decline  followed.  The  decrease  in  the  market  value  of  the  West  Indian 
staples  has  occasioned  much  distress.  The  need  of  a  thoroughly-trained  native 
ministry  is  greatly  felt  in  the  churches,  as  they  are  largely  dependent  still 
for  teachers  upon  the  missionary  organizations.  The  churches  are,  however, 
in  a  healthier  state  than  they  have  been  since  emancipation  ;  all  parties  are 
alive  to  their  responsibilities,  and  are  anxious  to  remove  the  obstacles  that 
still  stand  in  the  way.  In  the  British  West  India  Islands,  and  in  British  and 
Dutch  Guiana,  there  are  105,000  communicants. 

In  South  America,  missions  are  established  in  the  United  States  of  Colom- 
bia, in  Brazil,  in  Uruguay,  Patagonia,  Argentine  Confederation,  and  Chili. 
With  the  exception  of  Patagonia  and  the  Falkland  Isles,  all  the  other  fields 
are  occupied  by  American  Societies.  The  work  in  Brazil  is  full  of  encourage- 
ment. It  is  scarce  fifty  years  since  the  door — closed  to  evangelical  efforts  in  the 
south  of  the  Empire,  the  hanging  of  the  Presbyterian  preacher  (1567)  and  the 
expulsion  from  the  north  of  the  preachers  of  the  Reformed  Church  of  Holland 
(1654) — re-opened  at  the  adoption  of  the  present  Constitution,  which  guaran- 
tees toleration  of  other  forms  of  worship  than  the  Romish.  The  discourage- 
ments attending  the  efforts  of  the  Methodists  in  1836,  and  subsequent  missions 
of  other  evangelical  bodies,  led  to  their  abandoning  that  field.  But  the  pres- 
ent Presbyterian  effort,  dating  from  1859,  nas  steadily  grown  in  power.  In 
1862  it  reaped  its  first  fruits.  In  1866  the  Presbytery  of  Rio  de  Janeiro  was 
formed.  In  1872  it  was  incorporated  by  imperial  decree  to  have  and  to  hold 
in  all  the  Empire,  property  for  houses  of  worship,  schools,  hospitals,  and  resi- 
dence of  pastors.     Meantime  a  second  Presbytery  was  organized. 

The  work  of  the  pulpit,  the  school,  and  the  press  is  unrestrained,  except  by 
paucity  of  men  and  means.  Conversions  from  all  classes — the  sensualist,  the 
devotee,  and  the  infidel — prove  that  the  gospel  is  the  power  of  God.  Several 
priests  have  become  obedient  to  the  faith,  one  of  whom  having  served  well  his 
generation,  fell  asleep.  Of  a  large  number  of  young  men  who  have  felt  called 
to  the  ministry,  three  are  now  ordained  pastors  of  seven  flourishing  churches 
widely  scattered.  Others  are  hastening  their  preparation  to  go  to  churches 
who  are  as  flocks  without  shepherds. 

A  religious  paper,  now  in  its  eleventh  year,  is  awakening  attention  in  remote 
parts.  Bibles  are  widely  read.  One  colporteur  sold  last  year  in  the  Province 
of  San  Paulo  2,514  copies  of  the  Scriptures,  entire  or  in  parts.  Schools  in 
which  the  Word  is  made  prominent  are  multiplying  and  largely  attended.  The 
public  favor  the  largest  liberty,  and  the  Government  has  restrained  the  vio- 
lence of  adversaries.     So  we  thank  God,  and  take  courage  for  enlarged  effort. 


26 

Twenty  churches  have  been  organized,  containing  a  membership  of  about 
800,  and  more  could  be  established  if  men  and  means  could  be  furnished. 
In  the  Republics  mentioned,  the  gospel  has  not  taken  as  firm  a  hold  upon 
the  people  as  in  Brazil;  the  cause  is,  however,  prospering,  especially  in 
Chili.  The  field  to  be  cultivjfted  is  large,  but  the  laborers  are  few.  This 
great  work  is  opening  before  the  American  Churches,  and  they  should  go  in 
and  possess  these  lands  for  Christ.  Whether  they  will  advance  in  this  day  of 
the  Lord's  summons,  or  decline  the  call,  will  soon  be  seen. 

We  have  not  referred  to  the  great  Colonial  work  done  mainly  by  the  British 
Churches,  or  their  labors  among  the  Jews.  The  former  has  required  in  its 
evangelistic  bearings  a  great  outlay  of  men  and  means.  Some  of  these  Colonies 
are  becoming  strong  and  important  nations.  The  British  Possessions  to  the 
north  of  us  have  a  larger  population  than  the  United  States  had  when  they 
became  independent  of  the  mother-country,  yet  every  year  they  have  been 
greatly  helped  by  the  British  Churches.  Australasia  is  already  an  empire  in 
itself,  containing  a  population  of  2,000,000.  Ninety  years  ago  the  inhabitants 
were  savages,  and  not  a  civilized  man  among  them  ;  now  this  growing  num- 
ber have  nearly  all  sprung  from  a  Christian  people,  and  have  been  ministered 
to  in  their  religious  wants  by  Christians  in  Great  Britain.  Three-fourths  of 
this  number  are  Protestants,  though  the  Spanish  monarch  was  urged  more 
than  two  hundred  and  fifty  years  ago  to  seize  upon  the  new  continent  of  New 
Holland,  lest  the  Protestant  heretics  should  sow  "  in  this  large  part  of  the 
world  the  most  pernicious  poisons  of  their  apostasy."  In  Southern  Africa  a 
new  kingdom  is  rapidly  rising,  containing  in  its  different  Colonies  1,500.000 
souls.  A  portion  of  these  is  native,  but  the  foreign  element  is  growing,  and  is 
already  exerting  a  powerful  influence  upon  the  different  tribes.  These  com- 
bined will  yet  do  much  for  the  evangelization  of  Africa.  To  this  section 
Christian  Churches  and  certain  Missionary  Societies  have  devoted  much  of 
their  energies.  We  have  endeavored  to  separate  from  these  labors  only  that 
which  is  evangelistic,  and  enumerate  this  work  simply  in  the  survey  ;  but  the 
other  is  dependent  in  some  measure  on  it,  and  if  estimated  would  largely  swell 
the  extent  of  the  missionary  enterprise.  Besides  the  countries  mentioned, 
much  has  been  done  in  other  lands  for  maintaining  the  ordinances  of  the  sxos- 
pel  and  that  belong  to  another  department  of  church  work. 

No  reference  has  been  made  in  this  survey  to  the  missions  among  the  Jews 
carried  on  by  the  London  Society,  for  promoting  Christianity  among  them,  by 
distinctive  ecclesiastical  organizations,  etc.,  which  have  done  a  good  work  on  the 
Continent  and  also  in  Great  Britain.  Both  money  and  labor  have  been 
expended  in  reaching  this  class  with  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  The  Jewish 
Intelligencer  some  time  ago  affirmed  "that  in  London  there  are  30,000  Jews, 
of  whom  2,000  have  been  baptized  into  the  Church  of  Christ.  In  Berlin  there 
are  18,000  Jews,  of  whom  4,000  have  been  converted;  and  in  the  L^niversity 
there  are  28  professors  who  are  converted  Jews.     In   Europe  there  are  over 


27 

25,000  who  profess  Christianity,  and  of  these  ioo  are  clergymen  in  the  Church 
of  England."      It  is  difficult,  however,  to  obtain  statistics. 

There  is  also  a  large  class  called  in  some  countries  "  Borderers,"  recipients 
of  the  truth,  yet  afraid  for  various  reasons  to  come  out  openly  to  be  baptized. 
These  are  found  in  or  on  the  borders  of  every  mission,  waiting  for  more 
auspicious  times  before  avouching  publicly  their  interest  in  Christ.  Akin  to 
these  is  another  class,  who  away  from  mission  centres  are  cherishing  secretly 
their  faith  in  the  Lord  Jesus,  and  can  only  be  recognized  as  God's  hidden 
ones.  Were  all  who  confess  to  the  missionary  that  they  have  given  up  their 
own  systems,  and  have  embraced  Christianity  as  the  only  system  of  truth,  and 
rely  for  salvation  only  on  the  Lord  Jesus,  to  come  out  decidedly  for  Christ,  the 
roll  of  communicants  would  be  largely  increased.  Besides  these,  there  is  a 
still  larger  number  who  are  thoroughly  acquainted  with  the  doctrines  and 
principles  of  Christianity,  and  who  .are  ready  to  assert  its  benign  and  divine 
character,  and  yet  stand  aloof  from  a  cordial  reception  of  the  same  ;  while 
others  have  ceased  defending  their  own  system,  and  who,  if  they  are  not  ready 
openly  to  acknowledge  that  the  religion  of  the  Cross  can  alone  save,  yet  have 
no  confidence  in  their  own  tenets,  and  have  abandoned  all  idolatrous  rites. 
These  are  gains  to  the  power  of  the  gospel,  and  many  of  them  will  be  found 
in  the  future  on  the  side  of  Christ  and  among  His  devoted  friends. 

In  1825  the  number  of  copies  of  the  Bible,  or  of  portions  of  same,  that  was 
issued  by  the  Bible  Society,  was  a  little  over  4,000,000,  in  1875,  the  number 
has  reached  nearly  130,000,000,  of  which  the  British  and  Foreign  Bible  Society 
has  published  73,750,538.  The  number  of  versions,  including  the  chief  ver- 
sions issued,  has  been  296. 

Such  is  a  rapid  survey  of  the  missionary  work  in  its  present  dimensions 
and  the  progress  it  has  made  within  the  last  half  century.  Much  has  been 
passed  over,  and  many  signs  of  advancement  have  just. been  touched.  Group- 
ing together  the  figures  as  already  detailed,  and  we  have  the  following  approxi- 
mation to  the  present  membership  in  the  mission  churches  as  collected  from 
different  sources,  and  is  in  no  way  an  over-statement : 

Africa,  including  Madagascar 130,000 

Europe,  including  Scandinavia  and  Germany 53, 500 

Asia 120,000 

Polynesia 70,000 

America,  North  and  South 21,500 

West  Indies 105,000 

Total 500,000 

The  number  of  ordained  missionaries  in  connection  with  these  various  mission- 
ary organizations  is  about  2,300  ;  in  1825,  the  true  number  was  not  over  400. 
The  greatest  increase  has  been  in  native  laborers ;  but  as  there  is  no  uniform- 
ity among  the  Societies  in  classifying  the  different  workers,  whether  ordained 
or  simply  catechists  or  helpers,  it  would  be  difficult  to  give  a  fair  exhibit  of 
the  ordained  preachers.     The  membership  has  gone  up  from  about  40,000  to 


28 

500,000  in  fifty  years.  There  is  also  a  difficulty  in  stating  positively  the  exact 
sum  expended  on  missionary  work.  Thus  the  Wesleyans  of  England  and  the 
Propagation  Society  received  last  year  $1,570,000,  but  a  large  amount  of  this 
was  spent  on  colonial  work  in  Europe,  Australasia,  Canada,  Cape  of  Good  Hope, 
etc.  The  average  for  the  last  few  years  of  the  Missionary  Societies — British, 
Continental,  and  American — may  be  set  down  at  $6,000,000.  This  is  a  great 
advance  in  the  last  fifteen  years  ;  showing  that  the  work  is  taking  a  deeper  hold 
upon  the  hearts  of  God(s   children. 

women's  missionary  societies. 

In  the  earlier  history  of  missions  there  were  many  Women's  Auxiliary  Socie- 
ties organized  ;  these,  in  many  cases,  were  gradually  merged  into  what  the 
local  church  was  doing.  Since  zenanas  and  harems  and  homes  of  the 
women  are  open  to  the  gospel  as  brought  to  them  by  their  own  sex,  the 
women  in  our  own  and  other  Christian  lands  are  uniting  their  efforts  to  reach 
them  with  the  truth.  It  is  all-important  that  heathen  homes  should  be  con- 
verted into  Christian  households  ;  and  to  accomplish  this,  the  women  must  be 
brought  under  the  power  of  the  gospel,  and  this  must  be  carried  to  them  until 
the  usages  of  society  change,  by  women  whose  hearts  are  full  of  love  and  sym- 
pathy. The  educating  process  of  this  movement  upon  our  own  families  is 
good  for  sustaining  the  cause  in  the  future. 

The  interest  in  this  department  of  work  is  growing.  A  great  impulse  was 
given  to  it  by  Mrs.  Mullens,  wife  of  Rev.  Dr.  Mullens,  then  of  Calcutta,  now 
Secretary  of  the  London  Missionary  Society,  who  commenced  the  present  form 
of  zenana  work,  and  who  had,  under  her  own  personal  care,  zenanas  and  girl's 
schools,  containing  eighty  native  ladies  and  seventy  girls.  Her  time  of  labor 
was  short,  but  she  lived  long  enough  to  raise  up  friends  and  to  secure  for  it  a 
fixed  place  among  missionary  agencies.  Others  soon  entered  into  her  labors. 
The  Woman's  Union  Missionary  Society,  of  New  York,  was  the  first,  in  an  as- 
sociated capacity,  in  the  United  States,  to  take  hold  of  this  movement.  Others 
followed,  but  in  connection  with  their  distinctive  churches.  Those  co-operat- 
ing with  the  American  Board,  the  Presbyterian  Board,  and  the  Methodist 
Church,  are  large  and  influential,  and  aiding  greatly  in  the  efforts  to  reach 
heathen  and  Mohammedan  women  with  the  Gospel.  Other  Churches  have 
organized  similar  societies,  and  are  beginning  to  bring  the  women,  in  connec- 
tion with  them,  into  sympathy  with  this  movement.  The  amount  contributed 
by  the  women  co-operating  with  the  American  Board,  last  year,  was  $70,419, 
and  by  the  Presbyterian  societies  (women),  $96,249. 

a  comparison. 

In  what  is  thus  set  forth  in  this  review,  we  have  endeavored  to  show  the 
absurdity  of  the  cry — Missions  are  a  failure.  But  this  objection  assumes,  some- 
times, another  form  that  the  relative  gains  to  the  cause  are  much  smaller  in 
the  aggregate  abroad  than  at  home.     This  should  be  expected,  when  the  diffi- 


29 

culties  in  the  two  fields  are  considered — the  crushing  effects  of  heathenism  on 
the  one  hand  upon  the  civil,  social,  and  moral  relations  of  the  people,  and  the 
enlightening  and  elevating  effects  of  the  gospel,  of  law  and  order  upon  the 
masses  in  the  other  ;  in  the  preparation  of  the  people  on  the  one  hand  to 
receive  the  truth,  and  the  entire  absence  of  it  in  the  other ;  in  the  one,  man 
speaks  to  his  fellow  in  their  common  language  and  country  ;  in  the  other,  the 
preacher  is  a  foreigner,  ignorant  at  first  of  the  language  and  people,  and  living 
oft  in  an  unhealthy  clime  ;  in  the  one,  helps  and  appliances  for  work  are 
abundant ;  in  the  other,  they  have  had  to  be  made,  and  few,  as  yet,  when  com- 
pared with  the  number  in  the  other.  Without  running  the  contrast  farther, 
let  us  look  at  facts,  and  as  we  have  statistics  of  our  own  (Presbyterian)  Church 
for  1825,  we  will  take  it  by  way  of  comparison.  According  to  the  Minutes, 
there  were  1,080  ordained  ministers,  and  169,000  communicants;  in  1875, 
taking  in  the  Southern  Church  as  part  of  the  body  in  1825,  and  we  have  5,700 
ministers  and  613,368  members,  or  a  relative  gain  of  the  ministry  in  the  mis- 
sion field  and  in  our  Church  nearly  the  same  ;  in  membership  the  increase 
to  the  foreign  Mission  churches  over  the  home  Church  is  as  three  and  a  half 
to  one  ;  but  allowing  the  native  helpers  as  an  offset  to  Sabbath-school  workers 
and  other  Christian  lay  agents  at  home,  and  contrasting  simply  the  ministry, 
and  we  have  this  large  preponderance  of  communicants  through  the  labors — 
taking  the  several  years  into  account — of  only  about  one-third  the  workers. 
But  more  than  this,  looking  at  the  contributions  of  the  Presbyterian  Church 
for  her  own  work  in  congregational  and  benevolent  outlays  for  our  own  land, 
and  the  amount  expended  for  these  purposes  alone,  is  double  what  has  been 
disbursed  by  all  churches  for  Foreign  Missions ;  but  of  the  sum  used  in  the 
foreign  field,  considerable  has  been  spent  on  schools,  dispensaries,  translations 
of  the  Scriptures,  books,  theological  training,  orphanages,  etc.,  for  which  there 
have  been  appropriations  through  other  channels  at  home,  or  none  have  been 
required. 

We  have,  then,  this  remarkable  fact,  that  taking  the  growth  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church  in  the  United  States  as  a  fair  indication  of  the  aggregate  increase 
of  the  whole  Evangelical  Church  in  it,  and  we  have  the  growth  of  the  Mission 
churches  three  and  a  half  times  greater,  with  one-third  of  the  ministerial  force 
and  at  one-half  the  cost. 

In  view,  then,  of  these  figures,  who  will  say  that  Missions  are  a  failure? 
Who  will  be  discouraged  in  their  prosecution,  or  affirm  that  nothing  has  been 
done  ?  Who  will  repeat  the  worn-out  and  baseless  cry,  "  First  civilize,  then 
Christianize  ;  first  commerce,  then  the  missionary  ;  first  the  plough  and  the  rail- 
way, then  the  Gospel  ?"  Who  will  continue  to  affirm  that  but  little  has  been 
accomplished,  when  we  have  not  even  touched  upon  the  vast  preparatory  work 
that  has  been  done  On  every  mission-field,  and  that  stands  in  relation  to  future 
achievements  of  greater  moment  than  the  actual  results  that  are  massed  in 
figures  ;  and  when  we  have  not  alluded,  except  incidentally,  to  native  churches 


;o 


that  are  becoming  self-reliant  and  aggressive,  or  to  the  rich  spiritual  benefits 
that  the  cause  has  conferred  upon  the  home  churches  ? 

Considering  the  little  interest  in  this  cause  among  many  in  the  Church,  the 
little  each,  on  an  average,  contributes  to  it,  the  feebleness  of  response  to 
the  most  moving  appeals  for  help  from  the  Mission  fields  ;  the  unwillingness 
of  a  vast  number  to  place  it  among  the  positive  duties  of  a  Christian  life,  or  to 
consecrate  their  children  to  it,  and  then  viewing  the  varied  array  of  obstacles  to 
its  prosecution  at  home  and  abroad,  and  we  stand  amazed  at  the  saccess  that 
has  attended  this  enterprise,  and  are  assured  that  when  Zion  shall  put  on  her 
beautiful  garments  and  act  for  the  glory  of  her  Divine  Head,  and  for  the 
evangelization  of  the  world  as  her  great  work,  then  shall  the  earth  be  vocal 
with  the  praises  of  God,  and  the  nations  that  are  groping  in  darkness  shall  see 
a  great  light. 

FOREIGN   MISSIONARY  STATISTICS   OF    THE  PROTESTANT   CHURCHES. 

We  have  endeavored  in  the  following  table  to  bring  the  work  of  the  leading  Missionary  Societies  into 
harmony,  and  make  them  cover  the  same  operations  and  include  the  same  class  of  agents.  There  is  a  great 
difference  in  the  methods  of  making  up  statistical  tables  by  different  Societies,  which  prevents  a  fuller 
division  of  the  native  laborers  into  ordained  and  unordained.  We  tried  to  make  a  list  of  the  wives  of  mis- 
sionaries and  the  unmarried  ladies,  but  a  large  number  of  the  Societies  do  not  report  them,  and  the  table 
would  be  very  imperfect  by  inserting  only  those  that  were  known.  Some  of  the  Continental  reports 
embrace  only  those  that  were  issued  in  1873,  also  a  very  few  of  the  smaller  British  and  American  Societies. 
In  one  or  two  we  had  to  approximate  to  the  membership,  as  in  the  Netherlands  Missionary  Society  in  two 
of  its  missions.  From  the  list  of  adherents,  however,  we  have  given  only  a  small  percentage  of  the  same 
as  communicants.  The  last  report  of  the  Propagation  Society  is  very  incomplete.  We  have  thrown  out 
its  Colonial  work,  as  also  from  the  Wesleyan  Society  ;  but  in  the  former  we  had  to  take  statistics  of  earlier 
reports  to  make  the  aggregate  as  presented  in  this  table.  Owing  to  these  imperfections,  this  tabular  stated 
ment  is  only  an  approximation  to  what  is  correct  and  true.  We  have  not  been  able  to  obtain  the  amount 
expended  by  Local  Societies,  and  have  not  included  in  the  figures  what  has  been  expended  by  local  contri- 
butions in  different  missions,  or  what  the  Bible  and  Tract  Societies  have  used  for  their  distinct  operations 
abroad.  The  amount  given  for  the  specific  cause  of  Foreign  Missions  does  not  vary  much  from  $6,000,000 
a  year. 


A.D. 

1810 
'    1814 

1819 

1832 
I  1832 
!    1833 

1837 
!  1845 
i    1845 

!  ^45 
!  1846 
'    1853 

:  1859 


1    Q 

s  < 


c/> 


SOCIETIES. 


A  M  KR1C.A  N     SI  >C  I  ETIES. 


American  Board 

Baptist  Missionary  Union 

Methodist  Episcopal  Board 

Presbyterian  Board 

Reformed  Church 

Free- Will  Baptists 

Evangelical  Lutheran  Missionary  Society 

Baptist  Free  Missions 

Southern  Baptist  Board 

Methodist  Episcopal  Church,  South 

American  Missionary  Association 

United  Brethren 

United  Presbyterian  Church 

Southern  Presbyterian  Church 

Nova  Scotia  and  Reformed  Presbyterian  Church 
German  Evangelical  Church 


1701 
1792 

1795 
1800 
i3r6 
1817 
1824 
1840 
1840 
1843 
1843 
1844 
1844 

1847 
1856 
1856 
1865 
1865 
1865 
1865 
1865 


BRITISH   SOCIETIES. 

Gospel  Propagation  Society 

Baptist  Missionary  Society 

London  Missionary  Society 

Church  Missionary  Society 

General  Baptist 

Wesleyan  Missionary  Society 

Church  of  Scotland 

Irish  Presbyterian  Church    

Welsh  Calvinistic  Methodists ....    ... 

Free  Church  of  Scotland 

Primitive  Methodist.      , 

English  Presbyterian  Church 

South  American  Missionary  Society  . . . 

United  Presbyterian  Church 

United  Methodist  Free  Church 

Methodist  New  Connection 

China  Island  Mission 

Isolated  Missions  (India) 

Assam  and  Cachar  Missionary  Society. 

Indian  Home  Missions 

Strict  Baptists 


a  3  < 

'  O  an  <j 

3  $  S 

\  x  *  > 

o  2  x 

;  s.  w  a. 


160 
64 

87 
I40 

15 
4 

8 

4 
20 
16 
9 
4 
13 
19 


200 

94 

155 

201 

7 

213 

11 

12 
6 
28 
3° 
IS 
11 
56 
4 


CONTINENTAL. 


1732 
1797 
1816 
1822 
1828 

1833 
1836 
1836 
1836 
1842 
1850 
1852 
i860 
i860 
i860 
i860 
i860 


Moravian  Missionary  Society 

Netherlands  Missionary  Society 

Basle  Missionary  Society 

Paris  Evangelical  Society 

Rhenish  Missionary  Society 

Berlin  Missionary  Society 

Gossner's  Mission 

Leipsic  Evangelical  Lutheran  Society 

North  German  Society 

Norwegian  Society 

Berlin  Union  Society  

Hermansburgh  Society 

Danish  Missionary  Society 

Utrecht  Missionary'  Society 

Waldenses  Missionary  Society 

Godavery  Delta  Mission 

Free  Italian  Church 


INDEPENDENT,    OR    LOCAL   SOCIETIES. 

Sandwich  Islands — Hawaiian  Church 

Sierra  Leone,  Native  Pastor 

Karen  Home  Mission 

Various  Local  Societies  in  Different  Countries. 


SUMMARY   OF   THE 

American  S<  >cieties 

British  "         

CON  riN  ENTAL      v"  

Local  iv  


ABOVE   TABLE. 


i55 


62 

36 
21 

17 
9 


4 
60 


20 

4 
26 


25 


578 
1,078 

581 
27 

2,264 


7   ! 


-  w 

H  X 

<  O 

X  CO 


1,057 

973 
2,170 

5" 
128 


40 

3 

56 

5 


24 

94 


3  70 
.209 

3,927 
2,490 

15 

2,200 

128 

4i 

10 
230 

10 
•     56 

14 
286 


tg 


,523 
46 

210 
69 

136 
12 

87 
102 

7 
12 


27 
14 
82 


7.175 
284 

251 
224 
566 

61 
2.210 

50 


22,283 
8,000 
4,148 
2,229 

6,193 
3,580 
7,592 
9,291 

IOI 

355 

3o 

1,946 

71 

2,140 

300 

1,300 


",546 

55,507 

17,754 

6,901 

i,3°9 
37i 
737 
2,416 
2,800 
55o 
611 

150 

7«5 

1,151 

743 

34 


18,413 
36,468 
94,212 
24,647 

732 
112,104 

383 

225 

398 

2,387 

5,o44 

2,049 


3  » 


23,000 

15,357 
61,925 

47,396 

1,200 

140,000 

4,244 

1,389 

836 

11,303 
1,241 


10,580 


275 


137 
458 


52  14,850  5,938 

14  3,000  2,148 

57  2,468  !  

200  1,200  1   10,000 


o  2 


22,523 

6,689 

8,960 

12,509 

$468,620 

241,970 
300,000 

456,718 

1,275 
645 

54,250 
14,996 

2*  ,000 

2,673 

10,000 

52,000 

329 

27,424 

2,707 

21,616 

6,000 

2,589 

67,467 

450 

42,234 

2,000 

18,000 

400,000 
206,050 

517,770 
879,180 

48,000 

500,000 

50,000 

40,000 

14,525 

149,570 

14,525 

5!,!24 
68,640 

^2,305 
10,075 
10,000 
20,000 


2,000 


14,866 

90,008 

13,037 
3,218 

2,046 

40,000 

156,468 

25,000 

3,951 

60,000 

150 
1,465 
1,684 

50,000 
22,500 
49,500 

23,500 

939 

19,500 

1,400 
62 
62 

3,000 

37,735 
7,5oo 

12,500 

2,000 

4,700 

5,201 

10,652 

2,354 

323 


103,487 

307,883 

69,609 

21,518 


18,530  I   502,497 


63.349 

318,328 

45,475 
18,086 


1,809,295 

3,173,764 
601,911 


445,734   I  $5o84,97o 


&L 


V 


SKETCH 


OF    THE 


iam  Mission. 


THE   SIAM  MISSION. 


Siam  is  a  country  about  which  little  has  been  written.  Small  in  compari- 
son with  the  two  great  and  powerful  empires,  lying  to  the  west  and  the  north 
— India  and  China— it  has  but  little  in  itself  to  attract  the  traveler,  and  but 
little  in  its  past  records  to  stir  and  fascinate  the  reader.  Trade  with  it  is  in- 
considerable. It  is  also  somewhat  inaccessible,  not  lying  in  the  usual  or  pop- 
ular track  of  travel,  so  that  few  who  take  the  trip  "around  the  world,"  think 
of  running  up  the  peninsula  from  Singapore  and  then  up  the  Gulf  of  Siam  to 
Bangkok.  For  these  and  other  reasons,  less  is  known  about  Siam  than  of 
many  smaller  countries. 

It  lies  between  Burmah  and  Cambodia,  extending  from  40  to  220  north  and 
in  its  widest  portion  from  9S0  to  1050,  east  longitude.  It  is  watered  by  sev- 
eral rivers.  Some  of  these  are  intersected  by  canals,  which  form  the  great 
highways  of  travel.  The  seasons  are  two — the  wet  and  the  dry.  The  former 
ranges  from  May  to  November ;  the  latter  embraces  the  remaining  portion  of 
the  year.  March  and  April  are  the  hottest  months  ;  the  coolest  are  November, 
December,  and  January.  Vegetation  in  a  region  so  hot  and  moist  is  luxurious 
and  fruitful,  whilst  the  land  under  the  rude  cultivation  bestowed  upon  it,  yields 
a  rich  return. 

THE  PEOPLE. 

In  a  survey  like  ours,  it  is  with  the  people  we  have  to  do,  as  they  constitute 
the  great  field  for  missionary  effort  and  moral  culture.  The  Siamese  are  of 
Mongolian  origin.  In  the  country  are  many  Chinese,  who  have  intermarried 
with  the  Siamese,  and  these  two  classes  form  a  large  portion  of  the  population. 
Besides  these,  are  Laos,  Cambodians,  Karens,  etc.  No  census  has  been  taken 
of  the  people.  The  number  computed  ranges  from  live  to  eight  millions, 
the  latter  being  the  estimate  of  some  of  our  missionaries.  The  complexion 
of  the  Siamese  is  of  an  olive  hue,  and  their  average  height  is  about  five  feet 
three  inches.  Their  dress  is  exceedingly  simple.  Formerly  all  classes  among 
the  males  were  accustomed  to  wear  the  waist-cloth,  so  generally  worn  by  the 
poor  in  India.  To  this  was  added  a  scarf  thrown  over  the  shoulders  in  cool 
weather.  We  are  told  that  the  King  formerly  received  foreigners  dressed  in 
this  style.  In  these  latter  days  there  has  been  a  change  in  dress  as  in  some 
other  customs,  the  result  of  contact  with  persons  from  foreign  countries.  These 
innovations  have  reached  the  court  and  are  influencing  the  habits  of  the  peo- 


4  THE   SIAM   MISSION. 

pie.  The  home-life  so  characteristic  of  Christian  nations  is  unknown  among 
the  heathen.  This  is  true  of  Siam.  Woman  occupies  an  inferior  position. 
Among  the  common  people  she  is  the  drudge  of  the  household.  She  has  no 
need  to  attend  school  or  acquire  knowledge.  This  would  rather  injure  than 
benefit  her,  and  would  in  no  way  qualify  her  for  the  position  she  is  to  occupy 
in  society.  The  boys  are  usually  educated  at  the  temples  or  monasteries,  and 
are  taught  to  read  and  write  their  own  language,  and  are  also  instructed  in  the 
tenets  of  their  religion.  Some  among  the  nobility  have  had  their  daughters 
taught  to  read,  and  the  late  King,  who  was  a  great  admirer  of  the  United  States, 
made  efforts  to  have  the  women  of  the  palace  taught  English.  Marriage  is 
regarded  chiefly  as  a  civil  contract,  and  in  it  the  bride  has  little  or  no  voice, 
as  the  whole  matter  is  arranged  by  the  parents.  Divorce  in  such  a  state  of 
things  is  easy.  The  consent  of  parties  only  is  needed  for  the  dissolution  of 
the  relation.  Polygamy  is  common  among  the  upper  classes.  The  number 
of  wives  which  a  man  has  is  according  to  his  means  and  social  position.  It  is 
a  great  evil  where  it  is  practiced  and  a  barrier  to  the  reception  of  the  Gospel. 
The  state  of  morals  is  low,  and  is  no  better  than  what  the  Apostle  described  it 
in  his  day,  as  prevalent  among  pagan  nations. 

BUDDHISM. 

This  is  the  religion  of  the  mass  of  the  people.  In  China  and  Japan  Buddh- 
ism exists,  but  it  has  to  contend  with  other  systems  or  is  modified  by  them. 
In  India  various  religions  are  found,  but  in  Siam  the  one  faith  of  the  country 
is  Buddhism.  This  dominates  over  the  whole  social  and  moral  life  of  the 
Siamese.  Its  hold  upon  them  is  considered  greater  than  upon  any  other  nation. 
They  are  not  only  wedded  to  this  system,  but  they  are  indifferent  to  the  claims 
of  any  other.  It  takes  possession  of  every  power  and  will  not  let  go  its  grasp. 
What  it  is,  and  how  it  gains  such  an  ascendancy,  is  thus  described  by  the  Rev. 
S.  G.  McFarland  : 

"  Buddhism  knows  no  Creator.  It  quiets  the  minds  of  its  followers  by  simply 
asserting  that  the  world  came  into  existence  by  some  inherent  power  in  itself — 
or  by  chance.  It  teaches  that  the  souls  of  men  are  only  our  ancestors  under 
a  new  form.  All  kinds  of  birds  and  beasts  are  supposed  to  be  the  abodes  of 
the  souls  of  departed  relatives  ;  and  the  white  elephant,  above  all  animals,  is 
held  in  great  veneration,  because  it  is  thought  to  be  animated  by  the  spirit  of 
some  king  or  hero. 

"  I  ask  a  person  where  he  expects  to  go  when  he  dies.  The  answer  is,  '  I 
cannot  tell  whether  in  the  next  state  I  will  be  born  a  white  ant  or  an  ele- 
phant.' They  expect  their  spirit  will  pass  into  the  body  of  some  animal.  For 
this  reason  the  Siamese  pretend  to  be  very  particular  not  to  violate  the  first 
precept  of  their  decalogue,  which  forbids  taking  animal  life. 

"  All  the  males  of  the  country  are  required  to  enter  the  priesthood  for  a  time, 
and  live  a  life  of  celibacy,  devoting  themselves  entirely  to  study  and  the  per- 


THE   SIAM    MISSION.  5 

formance  of  meritorious  acts.  On  entering  the  priesthood  they  shave  the  head 
and  face,  dress  in  yellow  cloth,  abstain  from  all  intoxicating  beverages,  and 
also  from  taking  any  kind  of  food  after  the  middle  of  the  day. 

"  A  man  makes  merit  when  he  leaves  his  wife  and  family  to  support  them- 
selves, and  enters  the  priesthood.  The  people  make  merit  when  they  give 
their  alms  to  the  priests  ;  the  man  of  wealth  makes  merit  when  he  devotes  his 
thousands  to  building  and  adorning  temples  and  abodes  for  the  priesthood, 
and  in  setting  up  and  gilding  idols.  Men,  women,  and  children  make  merit 
when  they  bow  and  raise  their  joined  palms  to  a  yellow-clad  priest  as  he  in- 
differently passes  them,  or  bow  down  in  worship  before  the  image  of  Buddha. 

"Buddhism  is  a  cold,  heartless  formality — a  fearful,  soul-destroying  delusion. 
According  to  it  this  world  is  a  dark  enigma,  where  all  is  chance  and  uncertainty. 
A  dark  cloud  hangs  over  the  present  state  of  existence,  and  an  infinitely  darker 
shrouds  the  future.  It  gives  no  comfort  to  its  followers  in  the  present  life, 
affords  no  consolation  in  the  hour  of  dissolution,  and  no  bright  hope  for  the 
eternal  future.  I  once  visited  an  aged  priest  in  a  temple  on  the  banks  of  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  rivers  in  the  country,  and  in  conversation  with  him  learned 
that  he  had  been  forty  years  in  the  priesthood  ;  and,  according  to  his  own 
assertion,  had  never  knowingly  violated  a  command  of  his  religion.  As  I 
gazed  upon  his  thin  and  wasted  form,  and  listened  to  the  rehearsal  of  his  good 
works,  I  thought,  if  there  is  any  comfort  in  Buddhism,  this  man  has  found  it. 
I  inquired  of  his  hopes  for  the  future.  'Where  do  you  expect  to  go  after  this 
life  is  ended  ?'  His  answer  was  very  significant.  *■  I  know  not.  The  future 
is  all  dark'  I  contrasted  his  condition  with  that  of  the  true  Christian,  who, 
with  trust  in  God,  can  say,   '  I  know  that  my  Redeemer  liveth.'  " 

The  following  commandments  compose  the  Buddhist  decalogue  : 

I.   From  the  meanest  insect  up  to  man,  thou  shalt  kill  no  animal  whatever. 
II.  Thou  shalt  not  steal. 
III.  Thou  shalt  not  violate  the  wife  of  another,  nor  his  concubine. 
IV.  Thou  shalt  speak  no  word  that  is  false. 
V.  Thou  shalt  not  drink  wine  nor  anything  that  may  intoxicate. 
VI.  Thou  shalt  avoid  all  anger,  hatred,  and  bitter  language. 
VII.  Thou  shalt  not  indulge  in  idle  and  vain  talk. 
VIII.  Thou  shalt  not  covet  thy  neighbor's  goods. 
IX.  Thou  shalt  not  harbor  envy  nor  pride,  nor  malice  nor  revenge,  nor  the 

desire  of  thy  neighbor's  death  or  misfortune. 
X.  Thou  shalt  not  follow  the  doctrines  of  false  gods. 

This  is  a  bundle  of  negatives.  It  has  nothing  positive,  whereby  the  soul 
is  brought  into  union  and  communion  with  God.  It  has  no  gospel  in  it  for  a 
hungry,  weary,  and  sin-laden  soul  ;  no  Saviour  from  sin  and  death,  and  no 
method  of  recovery  for  the  perishing.  It  is  wholly  a  system  of  merit,  and  as 
such  it  is  suited  to  the  depraved  and  selfish  nature  of  its  votaries.     There  is  a 


6  THE   SIAM    MISSION. 

<*reat  similarity  between  Buddhism  and  Romanism.  Dr.  Nevius  shows  this 
in  his  "  China  and  the  Chinese."  He  says  :  "  Both  have  a  supreme  and  infallible 
head  :  the  celibacy  of  the  priesthood  ;  monasteries  and  nunneries  ;  prayers  in 
an  unknown  tongue  ;  prayers  to  saints  and  intercessors  ;  also,  prayers  for  the 
dead  ;  repetition  of  prayers  with  the  use  of  the  rosary  ;  works  of  merit  and 
supererogation  ;  self-imposed  austerities  and  bodily  inflictions  ;  a  formal  daily 
service,  consisting  of  chants,  burning  of  candles,  sprinkling  of  hoiy  water,  bow- 
ings, prostrations,  marchings  and  counter-marchings.  Both  have,  also,  fast 
davs  and  feast  days ;  religious  processions;  images  and  pictures  of  fabulous 
legends,  and  revere  and  worship  relics,  real  and  pretended."  It  is  estimated 
that  it  costs  the  people  of  Siam,  annually,  some  S25. 000,000  to  keep  up  the 
priesthood  alone.  The  sacrifices  required  to  sustain  heathenism  are  much 
greater  than  those  exacted  by  Christianity,  and  yet  the  latter  is  to  be  every- 
where proclaimed,  because  needed  by  all  and  suited  to  all,  it  is  to  be  sent  to 
every  people  under  heaven. 

EVANGELIZATION  OF   THE    PEOPLE. 

To  the  honor  of  Rome  she  sent  forth  her  missionaries  long  before  Protest- 
antism was  ready  to  commission  her  sons  and  daughters.  The  Jesuits, 
however,  gained  no  such  success  in  Siam  as  in  China  and  India.  In  the 
"  Relation  of  the  voyage  to  Siam  performed  by  six  Jesuits  in  1685,"  we  find 
complaints  of  the  slow  progress  made  in  the  spread  of  Christianity  by  the 
Romish  priests,  and  suggesting  that  "  if  the  esteem  and  affection  of  the  people 
could  be  once  gained  by  zeal,  meekness,  and  learning  it  will  be  no  difficult 
matter  to  dispose  them  to  hearken  to  instruction."  It  was  supposed  that  the 
monarch  then  upon  the  throne  was  "  already  half  a  Christian,"  and  efforts  were 
to  be  made  for  his  entire  conversion  to  the  Christian  faith,  which  if  attempted 
accomplished  nothing. 

b  The  first  Protestant  efforts  for  the  evangelization  of  the  people  were  of  a  de- 
sultory character,  and  but  little  impression  was  made  by  them  upon  the  people. 
These  attempts  were  mainly  for  the  Chinese  of  that  country,  and  were  begun 
by  Rev.  Messrs.  Gutzlaff  and  Tomlin  in  1828.  The  Jesuits  endeavored  to 
have  them  removed  by  the  government,  but  failed.  In  a  few  months,  however, 
they  both  left  the  field,  the  former  going  to  China  to  begin  there  an  interest- 
ing, but  in  some  respects  an  erratic  work.  The  American  Board  then  entered 
this  field  in  1834,  and  labored  with  but  little  success  for  several  years,  when 
their  work  was  in  part  transferred  to  the  American  Missionary  Association, 
who  began  their  operations  with  some  vigor,  but  which  were  not  sustained, 
and  gradually  their  interest  declined  until  they  have  abandoned  the  field.  The 
American  Baptist  Missionary  Union  transferred  Rev.  J.  T.  Jones  from 
Burmah  to  Bangkok  in  1833.  Others  followed  him  from  the  United  States, 
among  whom  was  Rev.  W.  Dean,  who  is  still  engaged  in  this  labor  at  the 
capital.     This  mission  embraced  two  departments,   one  for  the  Siamese   and 


THE   SIAM   MISSION.  7 

one  for  the  Chinese.  The  former  was  in  time  given  up,  so  that  the  Union  is 
now  concentrating  all  its  energies  upon  the  Chinese  work.  There  are  two 
missionaries,  nine  native  laborers,  and  270  communicants. 

The  only  society  that  has  maintained  its  ground,  and  the  only  one  that  is 
laboring  for  the  evangelization  of  the  Siamese,  is  that  of  our  own  Church.  Its 
first  laborer  was  Rev.  William  P.  Buell,  who  reached  Bangkok  in  1840.  His 
stay  was  short,  and  he  was  compelled  by  Providential  circumstances  to  leave 
his  station  in  1844,  when  fitted  for  enlarged  usefulness.  In  1847  Messrs. 
Mattoon  and  House  arrived  at  Bangkok  and  began  the  study  of  the  language. 
This  language  is  monosyllabic,  and  owing  to  the  tones  is  somewhat  difficult  to 
acquire.  By  the  time  the  laborers  were  ready  to  use  it,  their  way  was  beset 
with  difficulties.  The  King,  for  some  reason,  was  anxious  to  get  rid  of 
foreigners,  and  therefore  in  a  quiet,  but  effective  manner,  prevented  any  one 
selling  or  leasing  real  estate  to  the  missionaries.  Unable  to  obtain  houses  to 
live  in,  our  representatives  were  about  leaving  Siam,  when  the  King  was 
removed  by  death.  His  successor,  who  had  been  in  part  educated  by  one  of 
the  Baptist  missionaries,  had  imbibed  more  liberal  principles,  and  adopted  at 
the  commencement  of  his  reign  a  policy  of  freedom  and  toleration.  Mission 
premises  were  soon  secured,  and  no  hindrance  has  been  thrown  in  the  way  of 
evangelistic  work  from  that  period  to  the  present.  The  King  until  the  day  of  his 
death  was  friendly  to  missionaries.  Anxious  that  the  women  in  the  place 
should  be  educated,  he  requested  the  missionaries  to  furnish  teachers  for  this 
purpose,  and  their  wives  embraced  the  opportunity  of  instructing  them  in  both 
secular  and  religious  truths. 

STATIONS. 

The  work  of  the  Board  was  for  several  years  confined  to  Bangkok,  the 
capital  of  the  country.  This  is  the  largest  city  of  the  kingdom,  and  is  situated 
on  the  river  Meinam  (Chow  Phya),  about  twenty -five  miles  from  its  mouth. 
It  contains  about  400.000  inhabitants,  and  is  called  the  Venice  of  the  East, 
because  much  of  the  city  is  floating  upon  the  river  in  the  form  of  floating 
houses,  which  are  moored  on  both  sides  of  the  river  for  a  distance  of  some 
three  miles.  Bangkok  is  the  seat  of  wealth,  power,  and  culture.  The  King 
has  his  principal  palace  in  it,  and  the  nation  greatly  feels  its  influence,  as  the 
people  come  up  from  all  quarters  of  the  land  to  it  as  a  great  center.  Here 
are  some  costly  temples  built  as  works  of  merit  by  kings,  nobles,  and  the  com- 
mon people.  Idols  abound.  One  of  these,  in  a  reclining  position,  is  180  feet 
long  and  18  feet  across  the  breast,  and  is  overlaid  with  gold. 

The  premises  first  occupied  by  the  missionaries  were  at  one  end  of  the  city, 
situated  on  the  west  bank  of  the  river.  This  location,  the  best  that  could  be 
secured  at  the  time,  was  some  distance  from  the  center  of  population.  On  it 
have  been  erected  two  dwelling  houses,  a  chapel,  a  school-house,  and  a  place 
for  the  printing  press.  A  few  years  ago  a  lot  was  obtained  in  a  thickly-settled 
part  of  the  city,  about  five   miles  above  the   former,  and  on  the  same  side  of 


8  THE   SIAM    MISSION. 

the  river.  On  this  lot  a  building  has  been  reared  suited  as  a  residence  for  the 
missionary  and  the  girls'  boarding-school,  which  has  been  located  here. 

PETCHABURI 

is  situated  on  the  western  side  of  the  Gulf  of  Siam,  about  one  hundred  miles 
south-west  from  Bangkok,  and  on  a  river  of  the  same  name,  and  though  it  has  a 
population  of  less  than  20,000,  it  is  the  chief  place  of  a  district  containing  half 
a  million  of  inhabitants.  It  was  first  occupied  in  1861.  The  mission  premises 
consist  of  two  dwelling  houses,  a  large  mission  chapel,  and  a  school-room  ;  a 
building  for  the  industrial  school  will  soon  be  erected.  Connected  with  this 
station  are  two  outstations — one  at  Wangtako,  a  Laos  village,  four  miles  from 
Petchaburi,  and  the  other  at  Bangk-boon,  about  fifteen  miles  distant.  At 
each  of  these  points  is  a  chapel  for  preaching. 

Ayuthia,  the  former  capital  of  the  kingdom,  and  situated  on  the  river 
Meinam,  about  one  hundred  miles  above  Bangkok,  was  occupied  in  1872  as  a 
station. 

WHAT    HAS    BEEN    DONE. 

For  long  and  weary  years  the  early  laborers  toiled  and  watched,  waited  and 
prayed.  Qua-kieng,  a  Chinaman,  was  baptized  in  1844,  and  was  for  several 
years  in  the  employ  of  the  mission  as  a  teacher.  He  died  in  1859.  A  short 
time  before  his  death,  Nai-Chune,  the  first  Siamese  convert,  was  baptized. 
Twelve  years  was  a  long  time  to  wait  to  gather  in  the  first  fruits,  but  it  stands 
not  alone  in  the  history  of  missions.  For  seventeen  years  the  Danish  and 
Moravian  missionaries  in  Greenland  saw  no  one  coming  to  embrace  the  truth 
as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Fifteen  years  the  missionaries  toiled  at  Tahiti,  without  a 
single  convert,  and  while  the  parent  Society  were  considering  the  advisability  of 
abandoning  the  mission,  the  news  was  on  its  way  to  England  that  idolatry  was 
overthrown  En  the  island.  Mr.  Bruckner  labored  thirty  years  in  Java  before 
he  was  privileged  to  see  any  turning  to  the  Lord,  and  it  has  been  true  in  the 
history  of  several  missions  that  ten  years  pass  away  before  the  first  convert 
was  baptized.  The  laborers  at  Bangkok,  after  the  mission  was  resumed,  toiled 
a  little  longer  than  this,  when  their  hearts  were  gladdened  by  seeing  one  ready 
to  come  forward  and  openly  declare  that  he  was  a  Christian  and  was  ready  for 
baptism.  This  created  no  little  stir,  but  he  was  able  not  only  to  avouch  the 
Lord  Jehovah  to  be  his  God,  but  from  that  time  to  this  he  has  been  enabled 
to  hold  on  his  way,  and  to  witness  a  good  profession.  "  Though  frequently 
offered  positions  of  honor,  lucrative  offices,  and  employment  by  the  govern- 
ment, he  refuses  all  and  chooses  to  support  himself  by  the  practice  of  medi- 
cine, that  he  may  the  more  readily  carry  the  gospel  message  to  the  houses  of  the 
wealthy."  In  time,  others  were  added,  though  the  increase  was  slow.  The 
first  female  baptized  was  some  years  after  the  baptism  already  mentioned.  She 
is  the  wife  of  an  elder  in  the  church,  and  the  two  are  exerting  a  good  influence 
in  the  community  by  their  Christian  example.     The  number  of  women  received 


THE   SIAM    MISSION.  9 

into  the  church  is  much  smaller  than  that  of  the  men.  As  this  class  is,  however, 
brought  by  education  under  the  power  of  divine  truth,  this  disparity  will  disap- 
pear. The  last  report  of  the  church  mentions  an  interesting  fact  connected 
with  the  family  of  Qua-kieng,   the  first  convert,  at  Bangkok  : 

"Among  the   cases  of  conversion  reported  this  year,    some  have    been  of 
special  interest.     One  who  had  grown  old  in   every  form  of  iniquity,  and  had 
hardened  himself  against  the   truth  as  revealed  in  the  Christian  Scriptures  he 
had  so  often  been  employed  to  print  and  bind,  at  last  was  constrained  to  yield 
to  the  force  of  that  truth  and  broke  off  his  sins,  wondering  at  the  grace  of  God 
that  had  spared  him  so  long  and  brought  him  to  repentance.     And  he   is  a 
wonder  to  many.     At  one   communion   season  were  received   the   eldest  and 
youngest  sons  of  an  old  Chinese  native   assistant,  Qua-kieng,  who   died  in  the 
faith  in  1859.     Though  the  home  of  the  family  has  since  been  in  the  midst  of 
the  heathen  in  a  remote  country  village,  the  faithfulness  of  a  covenant-keeping 
God  to  His  faithful  servant  was  strikingly  manifest  in  bringing  now  these  sons, 
as  He  had  a  sister  the  year  before,  to  take  on  themselves   the  vows  their  good 
father  had  made  for  them  when  baptized  in  childhood.     The  younger  one  is 
desirous  of  studying  for  the   sacred  ministry,  and  will  offer  himself  to  Presby- 
tery this  Fall  as  a  candidate.     At  that  same  communion,   too,  a  mother  and 
son  stood  side  by  side  and  were  baptized.     It  is  an  interesting  fact  that  of  the 
nine  received  into  the  Bangkok  church  during  the  year,  four  were  then,  or  had 
some  time  been,  connected  with  our  mission  schools." 

The  church  at  Petchaburi  was  organized  in  May,  1863.     The  missionaries 
had  not  here  to  experience  the  weary  watching  and  waiting  which  character-, 
ized  the  toilers  at  Bangkok.     In   less  than  two  years  from  its  occupancy  as  a. 
station,  three  hopeful  converts  were  baptized.      Others  were  afterwards  received,. 
but  like  the  church  at  the  Capital,  its  growth  has  been  slow. '    Its  membership 
is,  however,  fully  equal  to  the  other.     The  last  year  was  the  most  fruitful  in 
results.     Nine  were  added  on  profession  of  their  faith  to  Bangkok  church,  and 
ten  to  that  of  Petchaburi,   and  the   number  received  into  each    organization,, 
exclusive  of  those  connected  with  the  families  of  missionaries,  has  been  36,  or 
72  in  all.     Whilst  no  church  has  been  organized   at  Ayutha,  still  the  missiona- 
ries have  been  permitted  to  baptize  six  adults.     Since  the  last  report  was  sent 
seven  more  have  been  baptized,  making  85  in  all  who  have  made  a  public  pro- 
fession of  their  faith  in  Christ   since  1859.     The   present   membership  is  62. 
This  is,  comparatively,  a  small  number,  but  most  of  these  have  been  gath- 
ered  within   a  very  few  years,   and   forty   of  them  in  little    more   than   two 
years.     This  is  full  of  encouragement,  as  showing  that  the  reaping  time  has 
begun. 

EDUCATION. 

The  first  school  opened  by  the  mission  for  the  training  of  the  young  in  sec- 
ular and  religious  knowledge  was  in  1852,  when  a  boys'  school  was  started  in  the 
vernacular  and  English  languages.     From  that  time  to  the  present  it  has  been 


10  THE   SIAM    MISSION. 

maintained  by  the  missionaries,  and  with  it  have  been  connected  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  youth.  Some  of  these  have  stood  up  nobly  for  Christ,  and 
have  confessed  Him  before  men,  while  others  have  been  benefited  by  the  truths 
learned,  and  if  not  open  advocates  for  Christianity,  are  not  to  be  ranked  among 
its  opposers.  Teachers  and  preachers  have  been  trained  in  it.  Mr.  McDonald 
says,  "  It  has  averaged  during  the  year  twenty-five  'pupils,  about  one-half  of 
whom  are  boarders,  and  the  remainder  day-scholars.  The  boys  have  made  com- 
mendable progress  in  their  studies,  viz.,  in  reading,  writing,  arithmetic,  geog- 
raphy, natural  philosophy,  and  astronomy.  They  have  also  memorized 
a  considerable  portion  of  Scripture  during  the  year.  Every  Sabbath  morning, 
before  regular  preaching  commenced,  the  boys,  together  with  such  others  as 
could  be  gathered  in,  have  met  as  a  Sabbath-school,  and  I,  with  such  native 
assistance  as  I  could  obtain  amongst  our  native  members,  have  taught  them 
the  Scriptures.  One  of  the  pupils  of  the  school  has  connected  with  the  church 
during  the  year,  and  several  others  have  manifested  a  spirit  of  inquiry.  The 
general  deportment  of  the  boys  has  been  good." 

No  attempt  was  made  to  open  a  girls'  school  till  1865,  when  "  in  Petchaburi, 
a  missionary's  wife  went  out  one  day  to  try  to  induce  some  of  the  ignorant, 
half-grown  girls  she  saw  idly  loitering  about,  to  come  to  her  house,  and  she 
would  teach  them.  '  What  will  you  teach  us  ?  '  said  one.  '  I  will  teach  you 
to  read  and  write  and  sew.'  '  What ! '  said  one,  in  astonishment,  '  teach  a 
girl  to  read  ! '  and  the  idea  seemed  so  ridiculous  that  the  whole  company 
burst  into  a  roar  of  laughter.  One,  however,  was  induced  to  come  and  make 
the  trial,  and  others  watched  the  results.  Seeing  nothing  serious  happening  to  this 
one,  others,  in  time,  ventured  to  come.  Such  a  thing  as  a  girls'  school  was  so 
new  and  novel,  that  it  excited  the  jealousy  of  the  neighbors.  Struggling  on 
against  a  multitude  of  enemies,  the  school  gradually  worked  itself  into  favor 
with  the  people.  From  one  pupil  it  increased  to  forty-five — the  largest  number 
the  two  female  missionaries  at  the  station  (cumbered  as  they  were  with  other 
cares)  could  receive.  These  were  taught  to  read  and  write  their  own  language. 
They  had  no  school  books,  but  oral  instruction  was  given  in  the  rudiments  of 
geography,  arithmetic,  and  astronomy.  They  were  also  taught  plain  and  fancy 
needle-work.  Much  good  has  been  accomplished  in  awakening  thought,  ele- 
vating the  tone  of  morals,  and  in  imparting  a  knowledge  of  the  Gospel  to  those 
heathen  women." 

This  school  has  been  under  the  care  of  Miss  Coftman,  who  writes  :  "  The 
pupils  have  read  and  had  explained  to  them  the  four  gospels  ami  are  just  now 
commencing  Acts.  Those  who  have  been  here  from  the  fust  have  repeated 
the  entire  book  of  Matthew  and  part  of  John.  They  repeat  a  few  verses  each 
day,  and  on  Sabbath  re-repeat  all  that  they  learn  during  the  week.  They  study 
arithmetic,  geography,  philosophy  (juvenile),  and  write.  We  have  a  beautiful 
set  of  maps  that  were  sent  from  home  before  I  came.  They  are  so  large  and 
plain  that  it  is  a  pleasure  to   teach  from   them.     The  pupils  have  also  read 


THE   SIAM   MISSION.  II 

many  religious  tracts,  printed  by  the  mission.  During  the  year  two  of  the  pupils 
were  baptized.  Two  other  women  were  baptized,  who  immediately  entered 
the  school.  Another  was  baptized  who  met  with  the  school  on  Sabbath  to 
repeat  verses.  They  have  all  given  good  attention  to  instruction,  and  I  have 
seen  tears  in  their  eyes,  as  I  have  tried  to  speak  to  them  of  the  love  of  Jesus. 
Thirty  persons  have,  during  the  year,  received  instruction  in  connection  with 
the  school.  The  highest  number  at  one  time,  nineteen — average  attendance 
twelve." 

Miss  Cort  has  also  commenced  a  school  at  the  same  station  for  younger 
scholars — from  six  to  twelve  years  of  age.  This  is  regarded  as  an  important 
element  of  mission  work — taking  children  from  the  great  school  of  vice  which 
surrounds  them  and  bringing  them  under  the  influence  of  truth  and  proper  cul- 
ture.    This  school  now  numbers  twenty- seven. 

A  female  boarding-school  was  commenced  three  years  ago,  at  Bangkok,  under 
the  management  of  Mrs.  House,  assisted  by  Miss  A.  Anderson.  It  is  now 
under  the  care  of  Mrs.  Van  Dyke  and  Miss  Grimstead.  This  school  is  at  the 
upper  station.  It  numbers  seventeen  boarding  and  two  day-scholars.  "  In 
an  audience  the  lady  teachers  of  the  Girls'  Boarding  School,  in  Bangkok,  had 
with  the  enlightened  young  King  of  Siam — on  his  late  birth-day — when  they 
presented  him  with  a  choice  specimen  of  their  pupils'  needle-work  (a  silk 
quilt),  His  Majesty  expressed  very  earnestly  his  gratitude  for  the  many  bene- 
fits his  country  had  received  from  the  American  missionaries  in  years  gone  by, 
and  now  for  undertaking  the  work  of  female  education  in  Siam.  He  asked 
many  questions  about  the  school,  and  manifested  much  interest  in  it." 

The  influence  of  these  schools  is  good.  They  are  scattering  indirectly  seeds 
in  the  homes  of  the  children  that  will  surely  bear  fruit.  "  Their  mothers  and 
grandmothers  sometimes  come  and  see  us,"  says  Miss  Coffman,  "  and  repeat 
verses  from  the  Bible  and  from  the  hymn-book  that  the  little  ones  have  repeat- 
ed at  home." 

THE    PRESS. 

This  is  a  power  for  good.  The  New  Testament  and  most  of  the  Old  have 
been  printed  at  the  expense  of  the  American  Bible  Society,  and  scattered 
amongst  the  people.  The  whole  Bible  will  soon  be  completed.  A  synopsis 
of  Church  History,  and  a  translation  of  the  Confession  of  Faith  and  the  Shorter 
Catechism,  the  Pilgrim's  Progress,  Child's  Book  of  the  Soul,  Bible  Blessings, 
etc.,  have  been  made.  Other  books  have  been  prepared  by  the  missionaries, 
and  also  important  tracts,  such  as  the  "Golden  Balance" — a  weighing  of  Buddh- 
ism and  Christianity — "  Killing  Animals,"  controverting  the  Siamese  teachings 
that  it  is  wicked  to  take  animal  life,  have  been  issued.  There  has  been  a 
felt  want  for  school  books  on  geography,  arithmetic,  astronomy,  etc.  This 
has  been,  in  part,  met  by  recent  issues. 

Some  who  have  been  received  into  the  fellowship  of  the  church  have  been 


12  THE   SIAM    MISSION. 

first  awakened  by  reading  the  Scriptures  and  Christian  books,  and   some  have 
embraced  the  truth  by  means  of  the  printed  page. 

The  work  among  the  Siamese  has  hitherto  been  largely  a  work  of  faith,  but 
the  faith  that  has  been  maintained  is  what  will  conquer.  Already  the  first  fruits 
of  the  long-enduring  patience  and  hope  are  coming  in.  As  many  have  been 
received  into  the  fellowship  of  the  Church  the  last  thirty  months  as  in  the  pre- 
ceding thirty  years.  The  laborers  have  ever  been  iaw,  and  now  for  the  millions  of 
Siam  there  are  only  five  missionaries  in  the  field,  and  six  ladies.  Besides  these, 
three  young  men  have  been  licensed  to  preach  the  Gospel,  and  three  others  are 
acting  as  teachers.  This  is  the  whole  working  force  for  some  eight  millions  of 
souls.  Suitable  accommodations  are  not  yet  furnished  for  the  schools.  One 
station  has  no  foreign  laborer.  The  work  there  needs  the  presence  and  the 
guidance  of  a  missionary.  Help  is  called  for,  and  a  strong  plea  is  presented 
for  additional  laborers,  but  where  are  the  resources  to  respond  to  this  appeal 
and  take  advantage  of  the  Providential  openings  and  the  encouraging  successes  ? 

WORK    AMONG   THE    LAOS. 

For  some  time  the  attention  of  the  missionaries  was  called  to  the  Laos  peo- 
ple, who  appeared  to  be  physically  and  intellectually  superior  to  the  Siamese. 
Their  country,  lying  north  of  Siam,  was  shut  in  by  almost  impassable  moun- 
tains, beyond  which  neither  Christianity  nor  civilization  had  attempted  to  pen- 
etrate. The  ruler,  whilst  an  independent  and  despotic  monarch  among  his 
people,  is  tributary  to  the  King  of  Siam,  to  whom  he  pays  an  annual  tribute. 
Anxious  to  preach  to  the  Laos,  in  their  own  land,  the  unsearchable  riches  of 
Christ,  Messrs.  McGilvary  and  Wilson,  having  obtained  the  sanction  of  the 
Board,  were  authorized  to  commence  a  mission,  and  in  1867  the  former  arrived 
at  Chiengmai  with  his  family,  after  a  journey,  by  boat,  of  eighty-nine  days.  He 
was  followed  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Wilson.  These  laborers  were  welcomed  by  the 
people,  who  came  around  them  in  crowds,  to  listen  to  the  preaching  of  the 
Gospel.     In  time,  impressions  were  made  upon  the  hearts  of  several. 

"  Nan  Inta,"  says  Rev.  S.  G.  McFarland,  "was  the  first-fruits  of  the  Gospel. 
Being  of  an  inquiring  mind,  and  unsatisfied  with  Buddhism,  which  he  had 
thoroughly  studied,  he,  from  curiosity,  visited  the  missionaries  on  their  ar- 
rival, and  was  pleased  with  the  story  of  the  Gospel,  and  particularly  with  the 
plan  of  salvation  therein  revealed,  if  true.     But  how  shall  he  know  that  it  is 

true?" 

"  One  week  before  that  great  solar  eclipse  which  occurred  on  the  i8tb  of 
August,  1868— one  of  the  most  remarkable  that  has  ever  been  witnessed — 
he  visited  the  missionary,  and  was  told  that  on  a  certain  day  there  would  be 
an  eclipse  of  the  sun.  Their  religious  belief  concerning  an  eclipse  is,  that  it 
is  caused  by  a  huge  monster  in  the  air  swallowing  the  sun  or  moon  ;  and  the 
i  dea  that  any  one  could  foretell  such  an  occurrence  seemed  wonderful.  How 
nxiously  did  he  wait  to  see  the  result !     The  very  day  and  hour  predicted, 


THE   SIAM    MISSION.  1 3 

the  phenomenon  occurred.  Nan  Inta  seemed  to  be  bewildered.  The  founda- 
tion of  his  trust  in  Buddhism  was  shaken.  It  had  deceived  him  in  things 
relating  to  this  world,  and  could  he  trust  it  for  the  future  ?  This  was 
doubtful. 

"But  could  he  trust  in  the  Christian's  Saviour?  He  was  so  aroused  to 
thought,  and  impressed  with  the  ability  of  those  who  believe  the  Christian 
religion,  that  he  began  the  study  of  the  Gospel  with  eagerness,  and  was  soon 
baptized. 

"  The  eclipse  referred  to  was  witnessed  by  the  late  King  of  Siam,  his  court- 
iers, and  many  of  the  European  residents  in  the  country,  at  a  temporary  ob- 
servatory erected  on  the  western  shore  of  the  Gulf,  in  a  dense  jungle.  It 
was  while  visiting  this  place  to  witness  the  eclipse  that  the  king  contracted 
the  fever  which  ended  his  life.  This  eclipse  was  referred  to  in  January  last 
by  Prof.  Proctor,  in  a  lecture  in  Association  Hall,  New  York,  as  having  set- 
tled the  interesting  fact  of  those  solar  prominences,  which  before  that  time 
were  supposed  by  astronomers  to  belong  to  the  atmosphere  of  the  moon. 
By  this  eclipse  they  were  proved  to  be  on  the  sun.  How  interesting  a  fact, 
that  while  scientists  were  gazing  upon  this  phenomenon,  and  settling  great 
facts  in  astronomy,  God  was  making  use  of  it  to  bring  a  dark-minded  hea- 
then into  the  glorious  light  of  the  Gospel ! 

"  Noi  Soonya,  a  man  over  forty  years  of  age,  a  farmer  and  physician  by  pro- 
fession, came  under  the  influence  of  the  truth.  On  his  first  visit  to  the  mis- 
sionary, he  had  'a  faithful  and  earnest  appeal  made  to  his  judgment  on  the 
guilt  and  folly  of  idolatry,  and  a  plain  statement  of  the  plan  of  salvation 
through  Christ.  The  truth  commended  itself  to  his  conscience.  He  prom- 
ised to  renounce  idolatry — to  worship  the  only  living  and  true  God.  He 
faithfully  kept  his  promise.  He  soon  applied  for  baptism  ;  and  on  the  first 
Sabbath  of  May,  1869,  a  little  less  than  two  months  from  the  time  he  first 
heard  the  Gospel,  after  a  faithful  examination  before  the  Church  Session,  he 
was  baptized.'  Several  others  were  soon  baptized,  and  among  them  Nan 
Chai.  The  little  church  in  Chiengmai  now  numbered  seven.  The  peo- 
ple were  interested.  The  truth  was  awakening  in  them  a  spirit  of  inquiry. 
The  church  there  was  apparently  on  the  eve  of  a  great  ingathering.  Sud- 
denly the  wrath  of  the  king  burst  upon  them.  Noi  Soonya  and  Nan  Chai 
were  seized  and  dragged  to  a  place  of  trial.  A  great  crowd  was  assembled. 
The  officers  examined  these  two  faithful  Christians  as  to  their  having  re- 
nounced Buddhism.  Yes,  they  had,  and  could  not  go  back  to  it  again. 
Having  found  a  true  way,  they  could  not  return  to  the  false.  The  death- 
yoke  was  then  placed  around  their  necks,  indicating  there  was  no  appeal, 
and  a  small  rope  passed  through  a  hole  in  their  ears,  thrown  over  a  beam  in 
the  house,  and  drawn  as  tight  as  they  could  possibly  bear.  In  this  most 
painful  and  disgraceful  position  they  passed  their  last  night  on  earth.  Next 
morning  they  were  examined,  and  found  to  be  steadfast.     They  were  asked 


14  THE   SIAM   MISSION. 

to  pray.  Nan  Chai  kneeled  and  led  in  prayer,  and  his  last  petition  was, 
'Lord  Jesus,  receive  my  spirit.'  While  engaged  in  prayer,  he  was  kicked 
in  the  face  by  one  who  stood  near.  They  were  then  led  out  into  the  re- 
tirement of  the  jungle,  and  clubbed  to  death.  'The  executioner  approaches 
with  his  club,  Nan  Chai  receives  a  stroke  on  the  front  of  his  neck,  and  his 
body  sinks  to  the  ground  a  lifeless  corpse.  Noi  Soonya  receives  five  or 
six  strokes  on  the  front  of  his  neck,  but,  as  life  is  still  not  extinct,  a  spear 
is  plunged  into  his  heart.  His  body  is  bathed  in  blood,  and  his  spirit  joins 
that  of  his  martyred  brother '  in  the  presence  of  Jesus. 

"  The  people  were  in  terror,  the  work  so  favorably  commenced  was  checked, 
and  for  a  time  it  was  thought  the  mission  would  have  to  be  abandoned. 
God  interposed.  The  old  king  was  soon  removed  by  death,  and  his  suc- 
cessor is  more  favorably  disposed  towards  Christianity.  Since  the  persecu- 
tion several  have  been  baptized." 

Rev.  D.  McGilvary  writes  :  "There  have  been  some  encouraging  indications 
of  good.  One  man,  who  had  been  under  instruction  at  the  station  for  six  months, 
having  come  originally  for  medicine,  had  begun  to  give  gratifying  evidence 
that  he  was  one  of  Christ's  chosen  flock,  though  his  sudden  death  prevented  his 
receiving  baptism,  as  he  desired.  Nan  Inta  was  ordained  as  the  first  ruling 
elder  of  the  church  in  May,  and  most  of  the  time  since  has  conducted  Sab- 
bath worship  at  his  own  house  in  the  country.  He  has  been  gratified  by  the 
'marked  change  in  his  wife  and  other  members  of  his  family  towards  the  Gospel 
message.  She  gives  evidence  that  she  is  a  believer,  and  it  is  hoped  that  she 
will  soon  unite  with  the  church  by  baptism.  Nan  Chai,  Dr.  Cheek's  teacher, 
openly  renounced  Buddhism,  and  desires  to  be  baptized.  He  is,  at  least,  a 
nominal  believer,  and  when  he  shall  become  a  true  Christian*,  his  zeal,  added 
to  his  youth  and  literary  attainments  in  his  own  language,  give  promise  of 
much  usefulness.  Sai  Kammon,  the  widow  of  one  of  the  martyrs,  is  quite  reg- 
ular in  attending  Sabbath  worship,  and  in  other  ways  clearing  herself  of  the 
guilt  of  Buddhism.  Mrs.  McGilvary  has  had,  since  her  return,  two  of  her 
daughters,  whom  she  is  teaching  to  read,  with  a  few  others. 

"  No  opposition  is  made  by  the  government  to  the  preaching  of  the  Gospel 
and  administering  to  the  sick,  while  some  cases  successfully  treated  by  Dr. 
Cheek  in  the  Viceroy's  palace  will  doubtless  much  facilitate  his  work  and  influ- 
ence. A  hospital  building  is  absolutely  essential  to  the  success  of  this  impor- 
tant department  of  our  work,  and  we  urge  the  importance  of  making  an  appro- 
priation for  the  purpose  as  soon  as  the  funds  of  the  Hoard  will  allow  it.  All 
that  we  could  say  in  addition  to  these  facts  would  be  in  anticipation  of  what 
we  hope  in  the  future.  It  will  be  probably  wiser  ami  safer  to  let  tin?  future 
interpret  its  own  prophecy,  and  we  must  ask  the  Church  to  do  as  we  have  to 
do,  wait  quietly,  hopefully,  prayerfully,  for  the  salvation  of  God  in  this  land." 
Since  this  letter  was  received,  two  women  have  been  baptized — the  first- 
fruits,  among  the  Laos  women,  to  Christ.  One  of  them  is  a  widow  o(  one  of  the 
martyrs. 


=2  7. 


MISSIONS  IN  SIAM. 


MISSIONS  IN  SIAM. 


Siam,  the  principal  kingdom  in  Farther  India,  lies  wholly  within  the  tropics. 
Its  greatest  length  is  1,350  miles,  and  greatest  width  450  miles,  though  a  con- 
siderable portion  of  it  is  very  narrow.  This  region  embraces  an  area  of  over 
200,000  square  miles,  and  within  it  are  found  a  population  estimated  from  five 
to  six  millions.  The  interest  which  gathers  around  a  country  like  India  is 
wholly  lacking  in  Siam.  It  has  but  little  to  attract  other  nations,  or  to  invite 
to  it  the  traveler  or  the  savant.  Its  commerce  is  limited,  its  people  are  far 
from  enterprising.  Much  of  its  past  history  is  obscure,  and  that  which  is 
known  has  little  that  is  stirring  or  instructive.  For  these  and  other  reasons 
few  books  have  been  written  of  the  country  and  the  people. 

If  commerce  depends  upon  the  productions  of  the  country  and  the  wants  of 
the  people  ;  if  the  student  is  drawn  to  the  one  by  the  marked  characteristics  and 
records  of  the  other ;  if  the  traveler  is  attracted  by  what  is  novel,  interesting, 
and  gratifying  to  his  tastes  and  desires,  the  missionary  is  moved  by  the  moral 
condition  of  the  inhabitants,  having  but  one  grand  dominating  idea — to  arrest 
evil,  and  bring  the  degraded  and  immoral  by  the  force  and  knowledge  of  the 
truth  into  harmony  and  love  with  it.  His  mission  differs  from  all  others.  His 
work  takes  in  man's  moral  and  spiritual  state  in  its  bearings  upon  the  future, 
and  in  its  sweep  it  embraces  the  other  world  as  well  as  this.  He  is  not,  there- 
fore, impelled  by  the  beauty  of  the  scenery,  the  richness  of  the  land,  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  soil,  the  language  to  be  mastered,  the  historic  renown  of  the 
people,  their  government  and  their  laws,  but  by  their  spiritual  necessities,  their 
social  degradation,  and  their  religious  condition,  and  with  these  before  him 
he  has  a  field  that  can  engage  all  his  powers,  that  will  demand  all  his  efforts, 
and  that  can  stimulate  him  to  continuous  earnest  labor.  In  a  region  like 
Siam,  that  has  scarcely  been  invaded  by  the  Church,  there  is  no  danger  of  one 
laborer  jostling  another  or  standing  in  his  way.  The  few  that  are  there  can 
have  parishes  as  large  as  they  wish,  and  sufficient  work  to  employ  all  their 
faculties,  and  fill  their  hands  and  their  hearts. 

The  foreign  invaders  of  Siam  have  not  come  from  the  West,  but  the  East. 
The  Chinese  are  found  in  large  numbers  in  certain  centers,  and  in  some 
places  they  and  their  descendants  constitute  the  larger  part  of  the  population. 
This  is  especially  true  of  Bangkok.  In  the  upper  provinces  the  Chinese  are 
not  allowed  to  settle.  The  fertile  soil  of  Siam,  and  their  superiority  to  the 
Siamese  in  industry  and  enterprise,  bring  many  annually  from  China  into  the 
capital  and  the  surrounding  country.  Besides  this  class  of  foreigners,  there 
are  settlers  from  Cambodia,  Malacca,  Burmah,  and  other  countries. 


4  Missions  in  Siam, 

The  climate  is  considered  a  healthy  one  for  certain  constitutions.  The 
thermometer  ranges  from  64  to  97  degrees.  The  mean  annual  tempera- 
ture is  82  degrees.  The  hottest  months  are  March  and  April,  and  the  coldest 
month  is  January.  The  two  seasons  are  the  wet  and  the  dry.  The  former 
extends  from  May  to  November. 

LANGUAGE. 

The  Siamese  language  is  written  under  the  line  from  left  to  right,  and  is 
monosyllabic.  The  alphabet  has  forty-four  consonants,  with  several  vowel 
points.  The  language  has  seven  tones.  Some  of  the  consonants  are  used 
with  an  aspirate,  and  in  others  it  is  withheld.  To  get  a  thorough  knowledge 
of  these,  and  be  able  to  manage  them  correctly,  is  no  easy  task.  Efficiency 
in  labor  will  depend  largely  upon  their  mastery.  The  Siamese  has  been  enriched 
from  other  tongues.  "  The  language  of  court  and  of  books  is  filled  with  en- 
tirely different  terms.  The  common  word  for  foot  would  be  insulting  applied 
to  royalty."     The  words  suited  to  the  latter  are  taken  from  other  languages. 

By  the  power  of  custom  rather  than  of  law,  education  is  limited  to  boys ; 
and  what  is  given  by  the  priests,  who  are  the  educators  of  the  young,  is  of  a 
restricted  kind.  The  schools  are  generally  held  in  the  temples  or  monasteries. 
On  account  of  the  inferior  position  held  by  women,  few  of  them  can  read. 
Public  sentiment  has  been  against  it.  Custom,  in  this  as  in  other  things,  has 
greater  force  than  legislative  enactments,  and  this  stands  as  a  barrier  to  the 
people  considering  the  claims  of  a  new  religion,  or  recognizing  a  change  of 
belief  as  possible. 

BUDDHISM. 

This  is  the  religion  of  Siam.  In  China,  India,  and  other  Asiatic  countries 
there  are  different  religious  beliefs  in  some  degree  in  sympathy  with  each 
other,  or  in  antagonism  ;  but  no  such  creeds  distract  the  Siamese.  They  are 
firm  believers  in  Buddha  and  the  system  which  bears  his  name.  The  late  king 
aimed  at  some  reform,  especially  in  the  tenets  which  came  in  conflict  with 
modern  science ;  but  the  mass  of  the  nation  adhere  to  the  faith  that  has  come 
down  from  the  past  with  all  its  traditionary  sweep  and  power.  It  is  not  neces- 
sary to  go  into  an  analysis  of  this  widespread  religion,  and  which  holds  in  sub- 
jection more  than  one-third  of  the  race.  It  is  a  cold  and  heartless  system,  full 
of  negations  ;  recognizing  no  all-wise  and  intelligent  Creator  ;  calling  forth  no 
true  devotion  or  affectionate  interest  on  the  part  of  its  worshipers ;  creating 
no  bond  of  union  in  its  influence  upon  the  hearts  of  its  devotees,  as  it  dispenses 
with  everything  like  collective  or  social  worship.  It  has  no  place  for  an 
atoning  sacrifice  for  sin,  or  a  divine  Mediator,  but  has  much  for  merit,  or  for  a 
self-righteousness  that  is  pleasing  to  fallen  nature  ;  and  for  the  best  develop- 
ment of  this  conscious,  self-assumed  power,  and  to  bring  man  into  active  sym- 
pathy with  his  faith,  it  makes  the  construction  of  an  idol  and  the  erection  of  a 
temple  as  of  paramount  importance,  and  akin  to  this  is  the  doctrine  of  feeding 
the  priests.     These  acts  are  greatly  meritorious.     Another  source  of  merit  is 


Missions  in  Siam.  5 

entering  the  priesthood.  It  is  the  ambition  of  the  mother  to  have  her  sons  in 
the  priestly  office,  that  they  may  make  merit,  not  only  for  themselves,  but  for 
their  parents.  In  Bangkok  alone  there  are  over  ten  thousand  priests  who  are 
dependent  upon  the  people  for  their  daily  food.  It  will  be  seen  from  this 
description  that  Buddhism  must  have  a  strong  grasp  on  the  individual  and 
national  life,  and  that  any  system  that  runs  counter  to  their  pride  and  self- 
righteousness  and  that  destroys  their  hopes  of  future  bliss,  can  get  at  first  but 
a  feeble  hold  of  the  moral  nature  of  man.  Nowhere  are  the  living  force  and  the 
deadening  influence  of  Buddhism  more  felt  than  in  Siam. 

MORALS    OF   THE    PEOPLE. 

Buddhism  inculcates  some  noble  sentiments,  and  appeals  at  times  to  man's 
truest  wants,  but  as  a  religion  adapted  to  fallen  humanity  and  its  spiritual 
necessities,  or  suited  to  transform,  to  elevate,  and  to  save,  it  has  no  power. 
It  feeds  the  worst  feelings  of  man's  nature — pride,  selfishness,  and  hypocrisy  ; 
it  does  nothing  to  uproot  evil  in  the  heart,  or  to  implant  a  new  mainspring  of 
action,  and  it  links  all  religious  thought  and  effort  with  idolatry,  so  that  the 
unity  of  God  is  not  recognized,  His  paternal  character  is  never  seen,  and  a 
ray  of  His  divine  love  and  unspotted  holiness  is  never  enjoyed.  With  such  a 
system  the  moral  tone  must  be  low,  and  where  the  rights  of  men  are  largely 
ignored  by  government  and  law,  vice  must  be  prevalent,  and  social  and  moral 
evils  abound.  This  is  true  of  Siam.  Says  Mr.  McDonald,  of  Bangkok, 
"The  description  which  Paul  gives  of  the  heathen  of  old  in  the  first  chapter 
of  Romans,  is  a  complete  description  of  the  heathen  of  to-day.  There  is  a 
rottenness  about  everything.  Buddhism  is  eminently  the  offspring  of  Satan, 
as  all  its  bearings  and  workings  upon  the  heart  and  morals  will  abundantly 
show."  This  people  need  the  Gospel,  and  whilst  they  recognize  its  superior- 
ity and  claims,  they  are  so  wedded  to  their  own,  and  so  held  fast  by  it  in  all 
their  civil  and  social  relations,  in  all  their  modes  of  thought,  and  in  all  their 
desires,  that  they  deem  it  too  severe  for  this  life,  and  as  one  they  can  embrace 
in  the  next. 

OTHER    OBSTACLES. 

Looking  at  the  principles  of  the  Gospel  of  Christ ;  the  beauty  of  its  teach- 
ings ;  their  suitableness  to  man's  fallen  condition  and  to  his  noblest  aspira- 
tions ;  and  to  their  quickening  and  rectifying  power,  we  would  say  that  when 
it  is  presented  in  its  fullness  and  richness,  the  people  would  at  once  see  its 
excellence,  and  embrace  it.  But  this  is  far  from  being  true.  Everything 
is  against  its  reception.  The  perversity  of  the  heart,  the  darkness  of  the 
understanding,  and  the  deadness  of  the  conscience  repel,  rather  than  favor,  its 
claims.  Its  exclusiveness  tolerating  no  other  system  ;  its  condemnation  of 
their  practices  as  wrong;  its  sweeping  away  their  most  cherished  ideas  of  right, 
and  treating  them  as  absurd  and  evil,  tend  to  foster  a  resistance,  rather  than 
a  compliance  with  its  demands.  Then  their  whole  system  is  interwoven  with 
the  government  of  the  country,  and  no  civil  office  can  be  held  by  any  one 


6  Missions  in  Siam, 

who  has  not  been  in  the  priesthood ;  it  is  interlinked  with  all  social  usages 
that  exercise  a  controlling  influence  over  life,  and  it  anathematizes  all  who 
desert  it  as  guilty  of  the  greatest  imaginable  sin.  Then  the  majority  of  the 
common  people  occupy  a  servile  position,  owing  service  a  part  of  their  time 
to  their  superiors,  which  gives  them  power  over  their  persons  and  relations, 
and  keeps  them  from  embracing  any  faith  that  would  interfere  with  these  duties. 
These  and  other  obstacles  stand  in  the  way  of  evangelistic  labor,  and  neutral- 
ize much  of  the  effort  that  is  put  forth  for  making  the  people  acquainted  with 
the  doctrines  of  Christ. 

EARLIER    MISSIONARY    EFFORT. 

The  Siamese  first  heard  of  Christianity  through  the  Romish  Church  and  not 
through  Protestant  effort.  The  Romish  missionaries  appeared  about  the  mid- 
dle of  the  sixteenth  century,  but  they  have  done  little  for  the  spiritual  elevation 
of  the  people,  and  their  influence  has  been  slight.  The  first  Protestant  evan- 
gelists were  Messrs.  Gutzlaff  and  Tomlin,  who  landed  August  23,  1828,  at 
Bangkok,  and  received  permission  to  labor  among  the  Chinese.  The  Jesuits 
sought  their  expulsion,  but  were  thwarted.  Their  visit  was  a  short  one,  and 
but  little  was  accomplished.  In  1833  the  Baptists  (American)  began  mission 
work  at  Bangkok  for  both  Siamese  and  Chinese,  and  for  years  this  double 
work  was  continued ;  the  latter  being  more  successful,  gradually  assumed  the 
pre-eminence,  and  in  time  the  other  was  abandoned,  so  that  now  the  mission 
is  wholly  for  the  Chinese. 

The  American  Board  entered  the  field  in  1834,  and  after  some  years  of  toil 
they  transferred  their  work  to  the  American  Missionary  Association,  and  this 
organization  has  also  given  up  the  field. 

OUR   MISSION. 

In  1838  the  Rev.  W.  Orr  visited  Siam  with  special  reference  to  the  Chinese. 
The  authorities  received  him  kindly.  After  communicating  with  the  Board,  it 
was  agreed  that  a  station  for  the  Chinese  should  be  established  at  Bangkok, 
and  in  1840  Rev.  W.  P.  Buell  and  wife  sailed  for  that  city.  They  were  fol- 
lowed by  James  C.  Hepburn,  M.D.,  and  his  wife,  but  they  were  detained  at 
Singapore  on  their  way  thither,  and  from  this  point  they  were  transferred  to 
China.  Rev.  Richard  Q.  Way  was  sent  to  reinforce  this  mission  in  1843, 
but  when  Mrs.  Buell  was  stricken  with  paralysis,  and  her  husband  was  obliged 
to  return  that  year  to  the  United  States,  Mr.  Way  joined  the  Ningpo  Mission, 
and  thus  the  first  effort  to  gain  a  foothold  in  Siam  failed. 

The  mission  was  only  suspended,  and  not  abandoned.  Its  character  was, 
however,  changed  ;  China  was  open,  and  all  labor  for  the  Chinese  could  be 
expended  in  their  own  country.  In  March,  1847,  Rev.  Stephen  Mattoon 
and  his  wife,  and  Samuel  R.  House,  M.I).,  a  licentiate  preacher,  arrived  at 
Bangkok,  and  commenced  labor  among  the  Siamese,  and  this  may  be  re- 
garded as  the  beginning  of  that  work,  which  has  been  maintained  ever  since. 


Missions  in  Siam,  7 

It  may  be  divided  into  two  periods  :  the  preparatory  and  the  reaping.  Yea, 
strictly  speaking,  all  that  has  been  accomplished  and  more  that  is  yet  to  be 
done,  must  belong  to  that  work  that  is  to  precede  the  harvest.  This  waiting 
time  is  ever  the  era  of  faith  and  hope ;  the  gathering  period  is  that  of  sight. 

The  first  labor  of  the  missionary  in  all  foreign  lands  is  the  acquisition  of  the 
language,  and  the  extent  of  this  labor  will  depend,  in  some  measure,  upon  his 
facility  to  acquire  it,  upon  the  nature  of  the  language  itself,  and  the  appliances 
at  his  command.  In  some  of  our  mission-fields  an  alphabet  has  had  to  be 
formed,  grammar  and  dictionary  made,  before  the  Word  of  God  could  be  trans- 
lated. If  this  were  not  the  case  in  Siam,  the  missionaries  found  a  people  pos- 
sessed of  but  little  literature,  and  much  to  be  done  in  providing  them  with  that 
which  would  elevate  character  and  purify  thought. 

Dr.  House  as  a  physician  had  soon  much  to  do  in  attending  to  the  sick. 
In  the  first  eighteen  months  he  prescribed  for  3,117  patients.  Soon  after  this 
the  cholera  broke  out  with  fearful  violence,  and  in  a  month  over  30,000  of  the 
people  were  swept  away.  Preaching  in  the  chapel  and  on  the  highway,  in  the 
city  and  in  villages  was  carried  on  by  Mr.  Mattoon,  and  the  press  was  used 
for  the  issuing  of  a  series  of  Scripture  histories.  There  was  for  some  time 
great  difficulty  in  establishing  schools,  but  a  beginning  was  at  last  made,  and 
four  boys  and  two  girls  were  found  who  were  willing  to  be  taught. 

Whilst  the  mission-work  was  moving"*  forward  with  no  serious  obstacles  in 
the  way,  it  suddenly  reached  a  crisis  which  threatened  its  very  existence.  The 
king  had  outwardly  been  friendly,  but  he  became  in  time  jealous  of  foreigners, 
and  having  absolute  sway  in  his  own  dominions,  his  wish  was  law ;  so  that 
when  the  missionaries,  who  had  been  living  in  the  houses  belonging  to  the 
American  Board,  and  which  had  been  transferred  to  the  American  Missionary 
Association,  and  were  needed  for  their  own  laborers,  wished  to  find  other 
quarters,  they  discovered  that  they  were  neither  able  to  rent  nor  to  purchase. 
The  thought  of  abandoning  the  field,  though  painful,  was  cherished.  Whilst 
debating  the  question  the  native  teachers  were  arrested  and  thrown  into 
prison ;  the  servants  fled,  and  the  people  were  unwilling  to  have  any  connec- 
tion with  the  foreigners.  This  added  to  their  perplexity.  Light  was  not  seen 
from  any  quarter.  Looking  to  God  for  deliverance,  and  resting  in  Him,  they 
were  surprised  to  hear  one  day  that  the  king  was  attacked  with  an  alarming 
disease,  which  soon  proved  fatal.  His  successor  pursued  a  different  policy. 
He  was  from  the  outset  a  friend  of  the  missionaries,  and  showed  them  many 
marks  of  attention.  They  were  invited  to  the  palace,  and  whilst  enjoying  the 
royal  favor,  the  missionaries  wrote  :  "  The  princes  and  nobles  now  courted 
our  society ;  our  teachers  and  servants  returned  to  their  places ;  throngs  came 
to  our  houses  to  receive  books,  to  talk  with  us  respecting  their  contents,  and 
we  were  permitted  to  go  where  we  chose,  and  to  speak  in  the  name  of  Jesus 
with  the  confidence  that  we  should  not  be  avoided,  but  obtain  a  respectful 
hearing."  An  eligible  site  for  the  requisite  buildings  was  soon  obtained,  and 
the  mission  was  established  on  a  firm  basis;  and  in  the  year  1852  they  were 


8  Missions  in  Si  am. 

permitted  to  write:  "We  are  not,  as  in  former  years,  without  any  certain 
dwelling-place,  but  are  established  at  last  in  a  station  and  home  of  our  own, 
and  relieved  from  cares  and  distractions  so  unavoidable  during  preceding 
years."  From  that  period  to  the  present  they  have  enjoyed  the  favor  and 
protection  of  the  king,  and  the  way  in  which  they  are  regarded  is  seen  by  the 
following  statement,  prepared  by  the  authorities  and  having  the  sanction  of  the 
king : 

"  Many  years  ago,  when  there  were  no  white  men  in  Siam,  the  American 
missionaries  came  here.  They  came  before  any  other  Europeans,  and  they 
taught  the  Siamese  to  speak  and  read  the'  English  language.  The  American 
missionaries  have  always  been  just  and  upright  men.  They  have  never  med- 
dled in  the  affairs  of  Government,  nor  created  any  difficulty  with  the  Siamese. 
They  have  lived  with  the  Siamese  just  as  if  they  belonged  to  the  nation. 
The  Government  of  Siam  has  great  love  and  respect  for  them,  and  has  no 
fears  whatever  concerning  them.  When  there  has  been  a  difficulty  of  any 
kind,  the  missionaries  have  many  times  rendered  valuable  assistance.  For 
this  reason  the  Siamese  have  loved  and  respected  them  for  a  long  time.  The 
Americans  have  also  taught  the  Siamese  many  things." 

STATIONS. 

Bangkok  is  situated  on  the  river  -Meinam — "Mother  of  Waters" — about 
forty  miles  from  its  mouth.  Where  it  empties  into  the  sea  it  is  very  broad, 
but  it  narrows  in  its  ascent,  and  is  about  half  a  mile  wide  at  Bangkok.  An 
extensive  sand  bar  at  the  entrance  of  the  river  prevents  large  vessels  from 
passing  up.  Those  of  any  size  that  do  ascend  have  first  to  be  lightened  by  a 
partial  discharge  of  their  cargoes.  After  crossing  the  bar  the  river  becomes 
crooked  and  deep.  Its  banks  are  lined  with  mangroves,  palms,  and  other 
fruit-trees.  As  the  city  is  approached,  rice,  sugar,  and  betel  plantations  and 
fruit-orchards  appear,  while  the  river  itself  is  alive  with  boats.  Bangkok  is 
built  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  and  is  said  to  have  a  population  of  about 
400,000.  A  portion  of  the  people  live  in  floating  houses,  which  are  kept  in 
place  by  large  poles  on  each  side  driven  into  the  muddy  bottom.  This  city 
became  the  residence  of  the  Siamese  rulers  in  1767.  The  name  means  "the 
City  of  Kings."  It  is  the  center  of  influence,  and  is  to  the  nation  what  Paris 
is  to  France.  Whatever  is  tolerated  or  recognized  here  is  favored  all  over  the 
land.  The  palaces  and  temples  which  abound  here  are  built  of  stone  and 
brick.     Most  of  the  buildings  are  of  wood. 

This  city  was  the  first  station  occupied  by  our  missionaries.  In  1849  their 
number  was  increased  by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Stephen  Bush  and  his  wife.  The 
latter  died  in  185 1,  and  the  former  was  obliged  to  return  in  1853.  In  August, 
1849,  a  church  was  organized,  and  a  native  Chinaman  was  received  on  certifi- 
cate as  a  member  of  the  church.  Just  ten  years  afterward  .the  first  Siamese 
convert  openly  abandoned  the  religion  of  his  fathers,  and  made  a  public  pro- 
fession of  his  faith  in  Christ.     "  Twelve  long  weary  years  of  hope  deferred  " 


Missions  in  Siam.  g 

came  to  an  end,  and  with  joy  and  desire  for  greater  things,  they  received  this 
new  convert  into  the  Church  of  God.  Two  more  were  received  in  1861.  It 
was  some  years  after  this  before  the  missionaries  were  permitted  to  welcome 
to  the  Lord's  table  a  single  Siamese  female.  The  first  school  that  could  be 
opened  for  the  education  of  youth  was  in  1852,  when  a  boys'  school  was 
established.  It  has  been  partly  a  boarding  and  partly  a  day-school.  With  it 
have  been  connected  nearly  200  youth,  some  of  whom  have  been  led  to  a 
saving  knowledge  of  Christ,  and  to  an  abandonment  of  Buddhism.  From  it 
have  come  both  teachers  and  preachers.  It  is  attended  at  the  present  time 
by  $$  pupils.  No  boarding-school  for  girls  was  attempted  till  about  four  years 
ago,  when  mission  premises  were  obtained  more  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  and 
nearer  to  the  people.  It  was  first  under  the  care  of  Mrs.  House  and  Miss 
Anderson,  and  it  was  growing  steadily  in  favor  with  the  people  when  they 
were  obliged  to  leave  Siam.  It  is  now  under  the  control  of  Mrs.  Van  Dyke 
and  Miss  Grimstead,  and  is  somewhat  reduced  in  numbers.  As  the  teachers 
gain  the  confidence  of  the  people  the  attendance  will  increase.  Two  of  the 
older  girls  have  recently  been  baptized. 

The  translation  of  the  Scriptures  has  occupied  the  attention  of  the  mission- 
aries from  the  beginning.  The  whole  Bible  will  soon  be  completed.  Most 
of  it  is  in  the  hands  of  the  people.  The  printing  of  the  different  books  has 
been  done  at  the  expense  of  the  American  Bible  Society.  A  number  of  im- 
portant religious  books  have  been  issued,  and  scattered  among  the  people. 
There  is  a  growing  demand  for  not  only  a  religious  literature,  but  for  proper 
educational  and  scientific  works. 

This  station  was  reinforced  by  the  arrival  of  Rev.  Andrew  B.  Morse  and  his 
wife,  in  July,  1856.  Their  stay  was  short,  owing  to  the  failure  of  health  of 
Mr.  Morse.  Their  places  were  supplied  by  the  arrival,  in  1858,  of  Rev.  D. 
McGilvary  and  Rev.  Jonathan  Wilson  and  his  wife.  They  were  followed  by 
Rev.  N.  A.  McDonald  and  S.  G.  McFarland,  and  their  wives,  in  i860;  by 
Rev.  S.  C.  George  and  his  wife,  who  reached  Bangkok  February  6,  1862.  Mr. 
John  F.  Odell,  then  in  Siam  on  business,  united  with  the  mission  in  1863. 
His  health  was  delicate,  and  on  the  following  year  he  died,  greatly  regretted 
by  his  brethren.  Rev.  P.  L.  Carden  and  his  wife  joined  this  mission  in  1866  ; 
Rev.  John  Carrington  and  his  wife  in  1869  ;  Rev.  J.  N.  Culbertson  and  Rev. 
Richard  Arthur  and  his  wife  in  1872  ;  Rev.  Eugene  P.  Dunlap  and  wife 
in  1875  ;  Miss  Arabella  Anderson   in   1872,  and  Miss  Susie  D.  Grimstead  in 

Petchaburi. — This  station  lies  eighty  miles  W.  S.  W.  from  Bangkok,  on  a 
river  of  the  same  name,  and  about  twelve  miles  from  its  mouth.  It  is  a  pleas- 
ant and  healthy  town,  with  a  population  bordering  on  20,000.  It  was  first 
visited  by  Rev.  Mr.  Buell  in  1843,  wnen  tne  Governor  treated  him  and  his 
companion  with  indignity.  The  books  and  tracts  they  distributed  were  either 
returned  by  the  people,  or  were  seized  and  destroyed ;  and  several  that  received 
them  were  arrested,  and  would  have  been  whipped  bv  the  Governor  of  the 


io  Missions  in  Siam. 

Province,  had  not  a  Buddhist  head  priest  (the  Prince,  who  was  afterward 
king)  been  present  at  the  time,  and  interceded  for  their  release.  In  1861,  at 
the  urgent  request  of  the  acting  governor,  Petchaburi  was  selected  as  a  station, 
and  his  friendly  aid  rendered  then  and  afterward  did  much  to  make  the 
missionaries  comfortable.  Rev.  Messrs.  McGilvary  and  McFarland  were  trans- 
ferred from  Bangkok  to  this  place  in  June,  1861,  and  they  were  able  with  the 
knowledge  of  the  language  to  begin  evangelistic  work  at  once.  Preaching, 
teaching,  and  translating  occupied  their  time.  A  church  was  organized  in 
1863.  The  long,  weary  waiting  at  Bangkok  had  not  to  be  endured  here. 
Three  hopeful  converts  were  baptized  in  1863,  and  others  seemed  interested. 
An  encouraging  addition  of  four  persons  was  made  to  the  church  in  1867. 
Others  have  been  added,  but  the  largest  accessions  are  those  that  have  been 
received  within  the  last  few  months.  Since  October  last  20  have  been  bap- 
tized, and  among  them  a  number  of  women.  Of  these,  several  were  from  the 
Industrial  School.  The  present  number  of  communicants  is  44.  This  exceeds 
the  aggregate  in  the  whole  mission  in  1875,  and  is  double  the  number  that 
was  received  up  to  1875  at  Petchaburi. 

The  schools  have  been  a  source  of  power  at  this  station.  In  1865  the  first 
attempt  to  open  a  school  for  girls  was  tried.  The  proposal  to  teach  them  to 
read  was  met  with  ridicule.  The  thing  seemed  too  preposterous.  One  only 
could  be  induced  to  come ;  but  as  the  school  had  been  established  it  was  kept 
up  until  it  grew  into  favor,  and  now  more  are  desirous  of  enjoying  its  benefits 
than  can  be  accommodated.  Work  among  the  women  at  their  homes  has  also 
been  tried  with  encouraging  success,  and  a  class  of  native  women  is  ready  to 
act  as  Bible-readers  and  visitors. 

There  are  three  outstations  under  the  care  of  the  missionary.  At  one  are 
six  members  of  the  church,  and  others  expect  soon  to  make  a  public  profession 
of  their  faith.     Teachers  and  preachers  are  needed  at  all  of  the  outstations. 

Early  in  1869  Rev.  James  W.  Van  Dyke  and  his  wife  joined  this  station; 
Miss  E.  S.  Dickey  arrived  in  1872  ;  Miss  Sarah  Coffman  in  1873  ■>  an^  Miss 
Mary  L.  Cort  in  1874. 

Ayuthia. — This  city  is  situated  on  the  river  Meinam,  some  seventy  miles  by 
river  from  Bangkok.  It  was  for  centuries  the  capital  of  the  country,  and 
continued  so  till  1767,  when  it  was  transferred  to  Bangkok.  Its  population 
has  dwindled.  It  is,  however,  regarded  as  an  important  center  for  evangelistic 
operations.  Mr.  Carrington  moved  thither  in  1872,  and  remained  here  till  his 
return  home  in  1875.  Four  persons  were  in  1874  baptized  at  a  place  a  few 
miles  from  the  city,  and  two  in  Ayuthia.  Owing  to  the  fewness  of  laborers  in 
the  mission  this  station  has  been  temporarily  abandoned. 

The  mission-work  was  never  so  prosperous  as  at  the  present  time.  The 
friendly  feeling  of  the  rulers  toward  the  missionaries,  and  their  anxiety  to  be 
on  good  terms  with  the  Government  at  Washington  ;  the  great  changes  going 
on  in  the  country ;  the  awakening  of  the  faculties  of  the  people  and  their 
desire  of  education,  are  all  evidences  of  progress.     Siam  made  great  advances 


Missions  in  Siam.  n 

under  the  late  king.  Commerce  was  enlarged,  and  many  improvements 
introduced  that  will  benefit  the  people.  The  present  king,  next  to  the  Mikado 
of  Japan,  is  the  most  progressive  sovereign  in  Asia.  He  has  not  only  intro- 
duced many  remarkable  reforms,  but  has  adopted  many  usages  of  Western 
civilization.  Among  the  imports  of  the  country  are  kerosene  oil,  hats,  and 
shoes.  A  few  years  ago  the  whole  nation,  including  princes  and  nobles,  were 
hatless  and  shoeless.  The  exports  for  1876  amounted  to  $8,315,683,  and  the 
imports  to  $7,070,053.     The  export  of  rice  alone  amounted  to  $5,767,326. 

LAOS    MISSION. 

The  Laos  people  who  inhabit  the  country  north  of  Siam  are  tributary  to  the 
Siamese  Government.  Occupying  an  inland  position,  and  shut  in  from  neigh- 
boring countries  by  almost  impassable  mountains,  they  were  regarded  with 
great  interest  by  those  who  came  in  contact  with  them,  as  a  people  more 
accessible,  and  less  influenced  by  priestly  authority  and  Buddhist  teachings 
than  the  Siamese.  The  missionaries,  anxious  to  extend  the  kingdom  of  Christ 
and  to  preach  to  the  people  in  a  new  tongue,  had  been  desirous  of  establishing 
a  station  at  Chieng-mai,  the  capital.  Receiving  the  sanction  of  the  Board, 
and  having  also  obtained  permission  from  the  king  and  from  the  Siamese 
Government,  Messrs.  McGilvary  and  Wilson  were  selected  for  this  work.  The 
former,  with  his  family,  left  Bangkok  in  the  early  part  of  1867,  undertaking 
the  journey  by  boats.  Though  the  distance  is  only  about  five  hundred  miles 
by  land,  yet  as  there  are  no  roads,  and  part  of  the  way  is  through  jungle  and 
over  mountains,  it  is  easier  to  go  by  water,  but  the  trip  is  very  tedious,  as  it 
consumed  nearly  three  months.  The  river  has  thirty- two  rapids  in  it ;  in 
coming  to  these  the  goods  had  to  be  taken  from  the  boats  and  carried  around, 
and  the  boats  drawn  up  with  ropes.  On  their  arrival  they  were  kindly  re- 
ceived by  the  princes  and  people.  The  king  manifested  pleasure  at  their 
coming,  and  sought  in  various  ways  to  show  his  appreciation  of  them.  Mr. 
Wilson  and  family  reached  Chieng-mai  in  1868,  and  their  hearts  were  soon 
saddened  by  the  death  of  their  son.  In  the  midst  of  their  sorrows  the  laborers 
were  cheered  by  witnessing  the  first  fruits  of  their  labors  and  sufferings.  In 
less  than  two  years  from  the  time  of  their  arrival  the  first  convert  to  the  faith 
was  baptized.  He  had  much  to  contend  with  in  coming  out  from  his  people 
and  abjuring  Buddhism,  of  which  he  had  been  a  priest;  but  he  rose  above  all, 
and  went  forward  in  the  path  of  duty.  Every  one,  especially  in  the  lower 
walks  of  life,  must  have  a  superior  to  look  to  for  protection,  on  whom  he  is 
dependent  and  to  whom  he  owes  a  certain  kind  of  allegiance.  When  called 
upon  to  work  by  his  master  on  the  Lord's  day,  Nan  Inta  after  his  baptism 
refused,  and  he  was  enabled  to  gain  his  point.  Others  became  interested 
in  the  truth,  and  soon  two  men  were  baptized ;  others  were  received,  and 
the  number  of  'disciples  increased  to  seven,  with  cheering  prospects  of  others 
coming  forward  for  baptism.  In  the  midst  of  their  brightening  hopes  the 
missionaries  were  surprised  to  hear  that  their  success  had  alarmed  the  authori- 


12  Missions  in  Siam. 

ties.  On  September  15,  1869,  all  the  natives  who  were  in  their  employ  left 
in  alarm.  They  were  then  informed  that  orders  of  arrest  of  two  native  Chris- 
tians in  a  neighboring  village  had  been  given,  but  they  could  learn  nothing  sat- 
isfactorily from  the  princes. 

"  It  was  not  till  Sabbath  the  26th,  just  two  weeks  after  the  deed,  that  we 
learned  the  true  fate  of  our  brethren.  They  had  been  seized  at  their  homes, 
on  Sabbath  the  12th,  the  day  their  families  had  reported  them  as  coming  in  to 
us.  The  fatal  yoke  was  placed  round  their  necks.  They  were  tied  up  with  a 
cord,  through  the  hole  in  their  ears  that  all  the  natives  here  have,  and  passed 
over  the  beam  of  the  house  of  the  principal  man  of  the  village,  and  their  hands 
tied  very  tightly  behind  their  backs,  in  which  painful  position  they  passed  the 
night.  Next  morning  they  were  each  asked  to  pray,  after  getting  first  the 
names  of  all  who  have  become  Christians.  They  knelt  down  and  prayed*, 
commending  their  souls,  as  did  the  dying  Stephen,  to  Jesus.  During  the  prayer, 
it  is  said  that  one  of  the  head-men  who  were  engaged  in  the  deed,  turned  round 
and  wept.  They  then  said,  as  to  themselves  and  all  the  Christians,  they  were 
willing  to  die,  but  begged  that  those  who  had  been  servants  of  ours,  and  were 
not  Christians,  might  not  be  molested.  They  were  then  cruelly  beaten  to 
death  with  clubs !  They  died  like  martyrs,  and,  we  hrave  no  doubt,  have 
inherited  the  martyr's  reward  and  the  martyr's  crown.  The  doctor  is  the  one 
who  was  mentioned  in  a  former  letter,  that  had  never  rejected  the  Gospel 
offer.  He  promised  me,  the  first  time  he  called,  never  to  worship  another 
idol.  He  commenced  family  worship  the  day  after  his  baptism  in  May,  and 
never  omitted  it  till  the  day  of  his  death,  and,  what  is  unusual  for  a  native 
Christian,  even  not  only  kept  the  Sabbath  himself,  but  allowed  none  of  his 
family  to  work  on  that  day.  Nan  Chai,  who  was  Bro.  Wilson's  teacher,  had 
given  up  a  position,  as  teacher  of  the  natives,  which  exempted  him  from  Gov- 
ernment work,  when  he  became  a  Christian,  and  was  enrolled  as  all  others  on 
the  list.  Their  race  was  a  short  one.  But  they  witnessed  a  good  confession 
before  many  witnesses.  The  blood  of  the  martyrs  is  the  seed  of  the  Church. 
We  have  had  one  anxious  inquirer  from  the  immediate  village  where  these 
men  lived,  more  anxious  than  ever  to  learn  the  truths  of  our  religion." 

This  sudden  attack  upon  the  little  church,  abetted  by  the  king,  was  a  great 
blow  to  the  mission.  For  a  time  it  was  doubtful  whether  the  work  could  be 
continued,  but  God  interposed  as  He  had  done  in  Siam,  by  removing  the 
king.  His  successor  has  in  no  way  interfered  with  missionary  labor.  The 
fear  created  by  this  unexpected  persecution  had  great  power  for  a  period 
upon  the  native  mind.  They  kept  away  from  religious  influences ;  this  is 
now  disappearing,  and  several  are  inquiring.  A  number  have  also  been  bap- 
tized. During  last  year  to  October,  five  women  were  baptized.  Among  these 
is  the  wife  of  the  first  convert,  who  has  remained  firm  ;  another  is  the  widow 
of  one  of  the  converts,  and  two  are  her  daughters.  Since  that, 'we  learn  from 
a  letter  just  received,  that  five  more  had  been  baptized — four  men,  and  one 
the  daughter  of  the  first  convert,  Nan  Inta ;  of  the  men,  one  had  taken  the 


Missions  in  Siam.  13 

full  degree,  and  two  a  partial  course  in  the  Buddhist  priesthood.  The  attend- 
ance upon  religious  services  continues  good ;  several  who  were  not  church 
members  come  regularly  to  them  from  the  neighboring  villages. 

Mr.  McGilvary  writes :  "  The  king  is  now  friendly  to  us,  individually,  as 
he  always  has  been,  with  no  more  opposition  to  the  Gospel  than  the  natural 
heart  usually  offers.  His  wife,  who  may  well  be  styled  the  queen — and  we  are 
proud  to  add  that  he  has  but  one — who  is  the  leading  spirit,  and  a  woman  to  be 
respected,  freely  confesses  that  there  is  no  evading  the  arguments  for  Christi- 
anity, except  by  putting  the  question  on  other  grounds  than  truth.  She  has 
been  a  patient  of  Dr.  Cheek's,  and  is  now  under  some  personal  obligation  to 
the  missionaries.  Others  of  the  princes  freely  confess  that  Christianity  is  true, 
and  that  Buddha  can  not  last  long.  A  brother  of  the  king  told  him  the  other 
day  not  to  be  discouraged,  that  they  had  to  hold  on  to  the  form  a  little  longer 
— the  shell — but  that  the  life  was  all  gone,  and  then  Christianity  will  prevail. 

"A  hospital,  a  temporary  chapel,  and  a  Sabbath-school  have  thus  been  all 
opened  with  encouragement  during  the  year,  with  ten  accessions  to  the  church 
by  baptism.  A  prince  of  high  rank,  by  far  the  most  intelligent  man  in  the 
country,  has  been  studying  the  subject  in  its  geographical  and  astronomical 
relations.  He  has  never  before  been  willing  to  confess  his  disbelief  in  Mount 
Meru,  on  which,  as  on  Mount  Atlas,  Jupiter's  abode  of  old  was  placed,  rests 
the  Buddhist's  heaven.  He  has  been  looking  at  the  stars  and  moon  through  a 
small  sea-glass  of  mine,  and  has  finally  given  it  up.  Buddh  or  his  disciples 
must  be  wrong." 

To  the  women  of  our  church  Mr.  McGilvary  makes  the  following  appeal : 

"  Will  not  our  praying-band  of  sisters  remember  the  queen  and  the  Laos 
women,  so  far  ahead  of  most  all  other  heathen  races,  already  in  that  position 
which  the  Gospel  gives  to  woman  ?  What  an  influence  the  queen  would  have 
if  only  led  herself  to  Christ." 

C.  W.  Vrooman,  M.D.,  joined  this  mission  in  1871.  Whilst  connected  with 
it  he  did  good  service  in  his  profession.  M.  A.  Cheek,  M.D.,  sailed  in  1874 
for  Chieng-mai.  His  influence  is  already  felt,  as  some  of  the  recent  converts 
have  been  brought  by  it  to  a  knowledge  of  the  truth. 

There  is  now  an  opening  for  work  among  the  women  and  for  schools,  and 
laborers  are  needed  for  the  same.  The  press  is  an  important  factor  in  mission 
labor.  As  yet  the  Laos  alphabet  is  not  completed.  The  missionaries  are 
engaged  in  the  translation  of  the  New  Testament  into  the  Laos  language,  and 
it  is  hoped  that  some  portions  will  be  soon  in  the  hands  of  the  people. 


'•v  0  , 

SIGNS    OF    PROGRESS    IN    SIAM. 

BY  REV.  N.  A.  MC  DONALD. 


In  comparison  with  such  vast  mission  fields  as  China  and  India  and  some 
others,  the  little  kingdom  of  Siam,  to  most  people,  will  appear  insignificant. 
Even  Japan  almost  quadruples  Siam  in  population.  Yet  to  those  whose  lot  it 
has  been  to  give  the  Gospel  to  Siam,  there  are  few  more  interesting  fields,  and 
but  few  at  present  more  encouraging.  Isolated  as  it  is,  and  distant  from  the 
regular  route  of  tourists  around  the  world,  but  few  think  of  visiting  it.  Occa- 
sionally a  stray  naturalist  or  collector  of  curiosities  makes  his  way  thither,  but 
even  these  are  far  between.  It  is,  therefore,  not  to  be  wondered  at  that  we 
see  so  little  concerning  it  in  the  public  prints  of  the  day,  and  even  the  few 
items  which  do  find  their  way  into  print  are  oftentimes  exaggerated,  distorted, 
and  unreliable.  The  Siamese  are  rather  a  conservative  people,  occupying  in 
that  respect  perhaps  a  middle  ground  between  the  Chinese  and  Japanese. 
They  are  not  unwilling  to  learn  what  they  can  from  Western  nations,  and  to 
adopt  to  some  extent  their  civilization;  still  they  receive  with  caution.  In 
their  adopting  from  other  nations,  and  in  their  public  improvements,  they 
are  careful  not  to  go  beyond  their  means,  and,  to  their  credit  be  it  said, 
have  thus  far  avoided  involving  their  nation  in  debt.  Up  to  the  death  of 
Pra  Nang  Klow  in  185 1,  and  the  accession  of  Pra  Chaum  Klow  to  the 
throne,  the  nation  had  decided  upon  an  exclusive  policy,  refusing  in  a  great 
measure  to  make  treaties  with  Western  nations.  The  death  of  Pra  Nang 
Klow  appeared  to  be  providential  and  timely — just  in  time  to  prevent  the 
country  from  being  opened  up  by  British  gunpowder.  Providence,  in  the 
meantime,  was  preparing  another  for  the  throne.  During  the  usurped  reign 
of  his  only  brother,  Pra  Chaum  Klow  retired  to  a  monastery.  Whilst  there 
he  came  in  contact  with  the  American  missionaries.  From  them  he  acquired 
a  knowledge  of  the  English  language  and  some  of  the  sciences,  especially 
astronomy.  This  led  him  to  undertake  to  reform  Buddhism,  to  discard  from 
their  sacred  books,  as  unworthy  of  belief,  all  those  portions  relating  to  the 
structure  of  the  universe.  He  also  learned  much  concerning  Western  nations, 
so  that  when  eventually  brought  to  the  throne  he  was  ready  to  open  up  the 
country  by  treaties.  Missionaries,  therefore,  take  to  themselves  the  credit  of 
having  opened  up  Siam  to  commerce.  In  proof  of  this,  they  have  the  testi- 
mony of  the  ex-regent,  who,  in  conversation  with  an  American  visiting  Siam, 
and  in  the  presence  of  the  writer,  remarked  that  "  Siam  had  not,  like  China, 
been  opened  up  by  British  gunpowder,  but  by  missionary  effort." 


2  Signs  of  Progress  in  Si  am. 

There  was  but  little  marked  progress,  however,  during  the  reign  of  Pra 
Chaum  Klow.  He  was  a  man  of  more  than  ordinary  ability,  faithful  to  his 
friends,  but  in  many  respects  tyrannical,  moody,  and  passionate.  In  one  of 
his  fits  of  passion  he  whipped  so  severely  a  writer  in  the  employ  of  the  English 
consulate,  for  some  petty  offense,  that  he  died  from  the  effects.  That  created 
a  difficulty  between  him  and  the  consul.  After  his  passion  had  passed  off  he 
was  heartily  sorry  for  what  he  had  done.  He  then  thought  of  his  old  friends 
the  missionaries,  and  asked  them  to  act  as  mediators  between  him  and  the 
consul,  so  that  the  difficulty  was  eventually  smoothed  over.  It  is  to  this  that 
the  Minister  of  Foreign  Affairs  probably  refers  in  his  recent  letter  to  Rear-Ad- 
miral Reynolds,  when  he  says,  "  When  difficulties  have  arisen,  the  missionaries 
have  rendered  valuable  services."  His  love  of  learning  clung  to  him  during 
life.  He  loved  to  be  called  learned.  He  employed  some  of  the  missionary 
ladies  to  teach  the  women  of  his  harem,  and  eventually  employed  an  English 
governess  for  that  purpose. 

The  first  noticeable  advance  was  in  the  matter  of  clothing.  The  climate  is 
such  that  but  little  clothing  is  actually  needed  for  comfort,  and,  except  the 
waist-cloth  reaching  from  the  loins  to  the  knees,  but  little  was  used  even  by 
princes  and  nobles.  Pra  Nang  Klow  would  give  audiences  to  Europeans,  and 
ride  out  in  state  clad  in  the  simple  waist-cloth,  the  rest  of  his  obese  body  being 
perfectly  nude.  A  neat  tight-fitting  jacket  was  afterward  adopted  by  all 
classes,  covering  the  upper  part  of  the  body  down  to  the  waist-cloth.  Steam 
was  also  introduced,  and  very  soon  the  great  river  was  navigated  by  numerous 
steamers,  both  for  pleasure  and  mercantile  purposes.  The  opening  up  of  the 
country  also  brought  into  the  market  numerous  articles  of  foreign  manufac- 
ture, intended  to  administer  both  to  the  comfort  and  luxury  of  the  people. 
His  love  of  science  never  forsook  Pra  Chaum  Klow,  so  that  in  1868,  the  time 
of  the  total  eclipse  of  the  sun,  the  central  line  of  which  crossed  the  Gulf  of 
Siam,  and  the  French  proposed  to  send  a  commission  of  observation  there,  he 
went  into  it  with  all  his  heart.  He  spared  no  expense  in  putting  up  buildings 
down  the  coast  for  the  accommodation  of  the  commissioners,  and  fed  them 
upon  every  available  luxury.  He  was  there  himself  with  all  the  royal  family, 
but  whilst  there  he  contracted  a  fever  which  terminated  his  life. 

The  accession  of  the  present  king  to  the  throne  marked  a  new  era  in  the 
progress  of  the  nation.  The  first  five  years  of  his  reign  was  under  a  regent, 
but  the  boy  was  not  idle.  A  visit  to  the  Dutch  colony  in  Java,  and  eventually 
one  to  British  India,  inspired  him  with  new  ideas,  so  that  when  he  attained  his 
majority  he  was  full  of  ideas  of  progress.  Still  he  found  himself  held  to  some 
extent  in  restraint.  Formerly  Siam  was  an  absolute  monarchy,  but  the  lead- 
ing nobility  thought  the  time  had  come  to  place  some  little  restraint  upon  the 
absolute  power  of  the  sovereign.  This,  however,  was  done  so  delicately  and 
quietly,  that  but  little  objection  could  be  taken  to  it,  even  by  him  whose  power 
had  been  thus  curtailed.  The  first  step  toward  reform  which  the  young  king 
had  in  contemplation  was  the  abolition  of  slavery,      In  this,  however,  he  met 


Stg/is  of  Progress  in  Siam.  3 

with  decided  opposition.  The  next  best  thing  to  be  done  was  to  ameliorate 
the  conditions  of  slavery,  which  has  been  done  so  that  one  born  in  slavery 
can,  by  thejtime  he  is  twenty-one  years  old,  be  a  freeman. 

He  next  adopted  a  new  form  of  dress.  The  old  waist-cloth  is  retained,  but 
long  stockings  and  European  shoes  cover  the  lower  extremities,  whilst  the 
upper  part  of  the  body  is  habited  in  a  regular  European  dress,  including  the 
latest  fashions.  At  all  public  entertainments,  the  princes  and  nobles  come 
out  in  dress-coats,  white  neckties,  and  white  kids.  This  dress,  though  some- 
what hybrid  in  its  form,  is  neat,  and  sits  well  upon  the  younger  portion  of  the 
community  ;  but  some  of  the  older  princes  and  nobles  appear  to  be  ill  at  ease 
in  it.  The  next  step  was  to  abolish  the  crouching  system.  Formerly,  the 
only  way  of  approach  to- a  superior,  from  the  king  down,  was  upon  "all  fours." 
The  whole  court  prostrated,  and,  crawling  in  this  manner  in  the  presence  of 
their  sovereign,  presented  rather  a  ridiculous  appearance.  After  the  king's 
return  from  India  this  custom  was  promptly  abolished,  so  that  the  Siamese  can 
now  walk  uprightly,  like  other  men,  even  in  the  presence  of  their  king  ;  and 
some  of  them  can  make  a  bow  which  any  Frenchman  might  envy.  These 
changes,  together  with  the  introduction  of  a  new  style  of  architecture  in  their 
public  buildings,  for  which  a  European  architect  is  employed,  the  establish- 
ing of  the  new  mint,  the  contemplation  of  telegraphic  communication  with 
the  outside  world,  the  opening  up  of  their  gold  mines,  and  the  importation  of 
European  machinery  and  engineers  for  the  purpose,  and  the  display  of  im- 
proved taste  in  ornamenting  of  pleasure-grounds  and  parks,  are  the  chief  indi- 
cations of  progress  so  far  displayed. 

The  change  in  the  religious  sentiment  of  the  people  is  no  less  marked  than 
the  political  changes  which  have  taken  place.  When  the  missionaries  first  ar- 
rived in  Siam,  a  nobleman  high  in  rank  playfully  remarked  to  one  of  them,  "  Do 
you  with  your  little  chisel  expect  to  remove  this  great  mountain  ?  "  referring, 
of  course,  to  Buddhism.  Amongst  the  earlier  missionaries  was  the  Rev.  D. 
B.  Bradley,  M.D.,  a  man  of  strong  faith,  wonderful  energy,  and  indomitable 
will.  He  labored  faithfully  for  over  thirty  years,  and  saw  but  little  fruits  of 
his  labor  so  far  as  converts  were  concerned.  Upon  the  day  of  his  death,  an- 
other nobleman  remarked,  "  Dr.  Bradley  is  gone,  but  he  has  undermined 
Buddhism  in  Siam."  Whilst  there  have  been  no  marked  accessions  to  Chris- 
tianity, still  the  religious  sentiment  of  the  country  has  undergone  a  marked 
change.  In  this  respect,  as  well  as  politically,  it  is  in  a  transition  state. 
There  is  a  breaking  away,  to  a  great  extent,  from  their  ancient  customs.  "  It 
is  Siamese  custom,"  was  formerly  sufficient  reason  for  doing  anything,  how 
absurd  soever  it  might  be,  but  now  we  seldom  hear  that  argument  advanced. 
The  late  king  granted  free  toleration  to  any  of  his  subjects  who  might  embrace 
Christianity,  acknowledging  at  the  same  time,  that  he  could  control  the  il  bodies, 
but  not  the  hearts  "  of  his  people.  The  present  king  has  granted  the  privilege  of 
administering  the  Christian  oath  to  converts  to  Christianity,  who  may  be  called 
upon   to  give   testimony  in   their  courts   of  justice.      Many  of   the   younger 


4  Signs  of  Progress  in  Si  am. 

princes  and  nobles  appear  to  have  lost  confidence,  to  a  great  extent,  in 
Buddhism,  and  do  not  look  upon  it  with  the  same  reverence  as  their  fathers. 
Men  now  remain  but  a  short  time  in  the  priesthood,  and  as  a  consequence  it 
is  very  difficult  to  find  a  young  man  sufficiently  versed  in  his  own  language  to 
be  a  teacher,  or  one  who  knows  anything  at  all  about  the  sacred  language. 
Ihis  is  a  matter  of  regret.  Such  was  not  the  case  when  men  remained  ten 
and  twelve  years  in  the  priesthood.  Native  scholarship  is  lowering  its  stand- 
ard. There  is  also  a  spirit  of  inquiry  amongst  all  classes  on  the  matter  of 
religion,  and  an  increased  demand  for  Christian  books,  and  especially  for  com- 
plete copies  of  the  Scriptuies  and  works  on  the  evidences  of  Christianity. 
The  higher  classes  are  also  beginning  to  appreciate  the  educational  enterprise 
introduced  by  missionaries.  It  is  perhaps  the  only  non-Christian  country 
whose  king  and  chief  nobles  have  been  willing  to  contribute  toward  education 
in  connection  with  Christian  missions.  The  girls  of  one  of  our  mission-schools 
made  a  nice  quilt,  and,  through  their  teacher,  presented  it  to  the  king  on  his 
birthday.  He  received  it  graciously,  and  in  reply  enumerated  many  things 
which  the  missionaries  had  done  for  the  country,  and  now,  said  he,  they  are 
"  teaching  the  women."  He  also  intimated  that  if  any  assistance  was  needed 
to  call  upon  him.  A  short  time  afterward  an  opportunity  was  given  him  to 
fulfill  his  promise,  and  he  promptly  contributed  $1,000  for  the  purpose  of 
erecting  a  building  for  a  girls'  school,  which  some  of  his  chief  ministers  raised 
to  $2,300. 

The  first  twenty  years  of  missionary  labor  there  was  almost  a  blank,  looking 
at  it  from  a  human  stand-point.  Eighteen  years  ago  there  was  but  one  native 
Christian  in  connection  with  the  mission  church  of  our  mission.  He  was  a 
man  who  oftentimes  manifested  remarkable  faith,  still  he  was  an  Oriental,  and 
traces  of  the  old  nature  still  remained,  which  led  him  him  frequently  to  do 
things  which  could  not  be  commended.  The  last  service  performed  by  the 
writer  before  leaving  the  country,  was  to  attend  the  funeral  of  that  man.  He 
died  in  the  faith,  and  on  visiting  him  the  evening  before  his  death,  he  remarked 
to  the  writer  :  "  I  suppose  I  must  go  first,  but  I  will  be  waiting  near  the  door 
to  welcome  the  rest  of  you  when  you  come.''  For  many  years  one  convert  a 
year  was  a  matter  of  rejoicing,  but  during  the  last  ecclesiastical  year  fifty-one 
were  received  into  the  different  churches  within  the  bounds  of  the  Presbytery 
of  Siam.  Another  encouraging  feature  is  the  fact  that  the  native  Christians 
are  willing  to  work,  and  contribute  liberally,  according  to  their  means,  for  the 
spread  of  the  Gospel  amongst  their  countrymen.  Some  of  the  members  of 
the  church  at  Bangkok  are  contributing  nearly  one-tenth  of  their  monthly  income 
for  the  purpose  of  supporting  a  native  preacher  at  the  old  city  of  Ayuthia.  And 
although  there  has  been  no  very  special  religious  interest,  no  very  copious 
outpouring  of  the  Spirit,  still  the  Spirit  has  been  present,  and  the  Gospel  is 
surely  making  its  way  into  the  hearts  of  the  people,  and  we  trust  will  continue 
to  do  so  until  the  M  great  mountain  "  of  Buddhism  be  removed,  and  Siam  be  a 
Christian  nation. 


the 


PRESBYTERIAN    BOARD 


IN 


MEXICO. 


The  two  structures  here  represented  are  from  photographs  of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  Protest- 
ant churches  at  Cos,  Mexico.  The  one  is  surrounded  with  graves  ;  the  other,  with  living  people. 
Perhaps  nothing  can  better  indicate  the  contrast  between  the  old  order  of  things  and  that  which,  we 
trust,  is  now  to  be  realized — between  Mexico  of  the  past,  and  Mexico  of  the  future  :  between  a  dead 
Papacy  and  a  living  Protestantism.  The  Roman  Catholic  church  here  shown  is  a  fair,  specimen  of 
those  found  in  the  small  villages  of  Mexico.  The  little  Protestant  chapel  is  solidly  built  of  stone, 
with  buttresses  of  the  same.  The  front  is  simple  and  in  good  taste  ;  the  interior  well  lighted  and  entirely 
plain.  Benches  are  used  for  seats,  and  a  platform  slightly  elevated  at  one  end,  with  a  table  on  it, 
serves  as  a  pulpit.  The  Sabbath  services  are  usually  opened  with  a  short  prayer,  a  chapter  of  the 
Bible  read,  a  hymn  sung,  and  an  address  made  by  some  member  of  the  congregation  ;  another  hymn 
and  a  final  prayer. 


21 


The  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions 


IN 


MEXICO. 


The  great  interest  attaching  to  Mexico  as  a  Mission  field  leads  the  Board  to  desire 
a  general  diffusion  of  knowledge  respecting  it,  in  order  that  the  whole  Church  may 
join  in  the  work  there  providentially  opened. 

Whoever  will  first  read,  and  then  communicate,  the  facts  here  presented,  will  confer 
a  benefit  upon  the  cause.  The  earnest  missionaries,  who  are  at  work  in  Mexico  in  the 
face  of  bitter  persecution,  are  worthy  of  hearty  support. 

HOW  THE   PRESBYTERIAN    BOARD  WAS    LED    TO    ENGAGE 
IN   MISSION   WORK   IN   MEXICO. 

For  more  than  twenty  years  it  had  been  the  policy  of  one  branch  of  the 
Presbyterian  Church  to  do  its  work  in  Papal  countries  through  its  own 
Mission  Board,  and  the  General  Assembly  of  1851  pointed  out  the  import- 
ance of  missionary  effort  in  Mexico  and  Central  America. 

With  the  reunion  came  the  question  whether  this  should  be  the  policy  of 
the  united  Church,  or  whether  it  should  follow  the  example  of  the  late  New 
School  branch  by  working  through  an  outside  voluntary  organization,  in- 
volving a  heavy  expense  for  collecting  agencies.  It  was  plain  that  both 
methods  could  not  long  be  pursued  together. 

The  solution  of  this  question  was  precipitated  in  the  Spring  of  187 1,  by 
the  withdrawal  of  the  Congregational  churches  from  the  American  and 
Foreign  Christian  Union.  It  was  now  felt  by  all  other  denominations  sup- 
porting that  Union,  that  the  time  was  near  when  they  would  be  compelled 
to  do  missionary  work  in  Papal  lands  through  their  own  Boards ;  and, 
accordingly,  the  General  Assembly,  which  met  about  that  time  in  Chicago, 
reiterated  the  recommendation  that  the  Board  turn  its  attention  to  the 
Papal  countries  of  our  own  continent.  To  this  action  the  Board  responded 
by  a  circular  issued  in  the  following  Autumn,  declaring  its  intention  to 
enter  Mexico  and  the  other  countries  named,  as  soon  as  means  and  men 


4  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico. 

could  be  found.  In  that  circular  the  Board  distinctly  denned  its  intended 
policy  with  respect  to  the  occupation  of  the  Mexican  capital,  in  the  follow- 
ing words  : 

That  it  is  the  purpose  of  the  Board  to  respect  the  preoccupation  of  missionary  fields 
by  other  evangelical  organizations,  according  to  the  principles  unanimously  adopted 
by  the  Union  Missionar)'  Convention  held  in  New  York  in  May,  1854,  by  which,  with 
the  exception  of  great  centres,  such  as  the  capitals  of  powerful  kingdoms,  any  field  which  is 
efficiently  worked  is  to  be  left  in  undisturbed  possession. 

Some  months  later,  the  Board  was  requested  by  friends  of  the  mission  at 
Cos  to  assume  its  support,  and  this  was  done  with  consent  of  the  American 
and  Foreign  Christian  Union,  which  had  undertaken  it  eight  months  before. 
Late  in  the  year  1872,  four  missionaries,  with  their  wives  and  one  unmar- 
ried lady,  were  sent  to  Mexico  for  the  occupation  of  Cos  and  San  Luis 
Potosi,  but  without  a  decision  as  to  the  question  of  occupying  the  capital. 
On  their  arrival  in  the  country,  they  found  that  a  division  had  occurred  m 
the  Mexican  Church  on  the  subject  of  prelatism  —  a  strong  party  having 
protested  against  the  appointment  of  the  late  Father  Aguas  as  Bishop.  It 
was  maintained  by  this  party  that  the  so-called  "  Church  of  Jesus  "  was 
purely  an  Episcopal  Church  ;  and  this  view  has  been  recently  confirmed  by 
an  article  from  the  Rev.  Dr.  J.  C.  Riley,  published  in  the  Register,  an  organ 
of  the  Episcopal  Church.  These  events  proved  fatal  to  the  united  effort 
of  the  various  denominations  under  such  auspices. 

The  anti-prelatists  solicited  the  aid  of  the  Presbyterian  Board,  as  they 
had  already  affiliated  with  the  Presbyterian  Mission  of  Cos,  and  eight  or 
ten  other  country  congregations  sympathizing  with  their  views ;  and  it  was, 
therefore,  decided  that  Messrs.  Phillips  and  Hutchinson  should  remain  in 
the  capital.  The  Methodist  churches,  North  and  South,  immediately  com- 
menced operations  in  the  capital  and  elsewhere.  The  Episcopal  Board,  to 
which  the  work  and  Church  property  of  the  "  Church  of  Jesus  "  is  now 
fully  assigned,  has  commenced  vigorous  operations,  while  the  American 
Board  has  established  a  mission  at  Guadalajara,  and  assumed  the  work  of 
Miss  Rankin  at  Monterey.  Between  the  Methodist,  Presbyterian,  and 
Congregational  missionaries,  an  evangelical  union  has  been  formed,  for  the 
promotion  of  harmonious  and  efficient  cooperation  in  the  great  common 
cause.  It  is  needless  to  add  that  the  work  thus  undertaken  by  a  strong 
force  of  men,  backed  by  several  vigorous  and  permanent  Boards,  has  en- 
tered upon  a  careeer  of  solid  and  extensive  conquest  never  known  before. 
The  Mexican  movement  now  consists,  not  of  a  number  of  congregations 
having  no  distinction  between  attendants  and  church  members,  and  without 
schools  or  a  religious  press,  but  of  a  thorough  organization  in  all  the  various 
lines  of  evangelical  work.  If  any  doubt  whether  it  be  wise  to  enter  Mex- 
ico thus  strongly  as  denominations,  it  may  be  said  that  all  together,  with 
such  funds  and  such  force  as  they  can  command,  are  not  equal  to  the  de- 
mands of  the  work ;  and  their  missionaries  are  probably  outnumbered  five 


Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico.  5 

to  one,  by  the  Jesuits,  open  or  disguised,  whom  the  Papacy  is  importing 
from  other  lands. 

The  proportions  and  encouragement  of  the  work  in  that  sister  Republic 
are  such  as  to  call  forth  the  prayers  and  contributions,  and  thoroughly 
organized  aid,  of  all  Christian  denominations  in  this  country. 

THE  WORK  ACCOMPLISHED  THUS  FAR. 

The  oldest  and  largest  of  the  congregations  connected  with  the  Board  is 
located  at  Cos,  in  the  State  of  Zacatecas,  60  miles  north-east  of  the  State 
capital  of  that  name.  This  is  a  mining  town,  of  4,000  inhabitants.  The 
congregation,  which  owes  very  much  in  every  way,  to  Dr.  Prevost  of  Phila- 
delphia, formerly  a  resident  in  the  place,  numbers  about  300,  is  thoroughly 
organized  with  a  membership  of  from  150  to  170,  of  whom  a  hundred  and 
fifty  were  actually  present  at  a  recent  communion  service.  It  is  under  the 
care  of  Sr.  Amador,  a  well-tried  layman,  and  has  a  Sabbath-school  of  one 
hundred  and  thirty  pupils.  It  has  a  neat  chapel,  costing  $2,000 ;  a  printing 
press  furnished  by  friends  in  Philadelphia,  from  which  is  issued  a  well-con- 
ducted weekly  religious  newspaper;  a  boys'  school  of  sixty  pupils,  and  girls' 
school  of  forty-five. 

Thirty  miles  east  of  Cos,  and  over  the  State  line  of  San  Luis,  is  Salado, 
in  which  a  small  congregation  was  spontaneously  formed  over  a  year  ago. 
It  now  numbers  fifty  persons.  Thirty-five  miles  north  of  Zacatecas  is 
Fresnillo,  in  which  we  have  a  flourishing  congregation,  of  from  eighty  to 
one  hundred  persons,  ministered  to  by  a  lay  preacher,  partly  supported  by 
the  Board.  There  is  a  Sabbath-school  of  twenty-five  members  ;  seventeen 
adults  and  several  children  were  recently  baptized.  Ten  miles  from  Zaca- 
tecas, is  the  small  mining  town  of  Tecoletes,  where  a  small  congregation 
meet  regularly  for  worship,  and  are  occasionally  ministered  to  by  Mr.  Phillips 
of  Zacatecas.  At  Jerez,  twenty-five  or  thirty  miles  west  of  Zacatecas,  a 
very  vigorous  congregation  was  established  during  the  summer,  but  for  the 
present  its  services  are  suppressed  by  the  priests  and  the  mob.  In  June 
nine  adults  and  two  children  were  baptized.  The  number  of  baptisms  the 
last  six  months  in  all  these  out-stations  of  the  Zacatecas  field,  have  been 
forty-three  adults,  and  twenty  children.  In  Zacatecas,  which  must  be  re- 
garded as  the  central  point,  a  church  was  organized  on  the  14th  of  Decem- 
ber, in  a  rented  hall,  for  $240  per  annum.  The  number  present  on  that 
occasion  were  250. 

The  whole  work  in  the  State  of  Zacatecas,  which  has  been  occupied  only 
about  a  year,  may  be  considered  as  in  a  prosperous  state,  numbering  six 
congregations. 

San  Luis  Potosi,  the  capital  of  the  State  of  the  same  name,  was  occupied 
for  the  first  time  by  Rev.  H.  C.  Thompson  in  November,  1872.  He  applied 
himself  vigorously  to  the  study  of  the  language  and  of  the  field,  and  with  the 


6  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico. 

aid  of  a  lay  preacher,  Sr.  Vivero,  began  at  once  to  form  a  congregation  which 
has  varied  at  different  times  under  the  pressure  of  bitter  persecution,  but  is 
now  reported  as  being  prosperous  and  full  of  promise.  Mr.  Thompson  has 
gained  the  confidence  of  many  liberal  friends,  not  only  in  San  Luis,  but  in 
the  surrounding  towns,  and  believes  that  small  congregations  might  be 
organized  in  four  or  five  villages  between  that  point  and  Zacatecas.  The 
leading  officials  of  San  Luis  are  of  the  liberal  party,  and  have  thus  far  given 
prompt  protection  to  the  Protestant  congregation. 

Mrs.  Thompson  has  sustained  a  girls'  school  in  her  own  house  a  part  of 
the  year. 

As  to  the  city  of  Mexico,  its  occupation,  as  a  station,  at  so  early  a  day, 
was  not  contemplated  until  our  missionaries,  on  their  arrival  in  October, 
1872,  learned  that  an  anti-prelatical  party,  embracing  nine  congregations, 
had  been  formed  in  opposition  to  the  appointment  of  a  bishop,  with  the 
sanction  of  Dr.  Riley.  These  non-conformists  of  the  Mexican  Church  at 
once  sought,  of  their  own  accord,  the  moral  and  pecuniary  support  of  our 
Board,  which,  after  a  very  full  hearing  of  their  case,  as  represented  by  our 
missionaries,  was,  to  a  limited  extent,  granted.  At  that  time  there  were  two 
principal  congregations  in  the  city — the  one  above  referred  to,  and  another 
known  as  the  Church  of  Jesus — having  all  the  forms  and  observances  of  the 
Episcopal  Church.  In  neither,  as  far  as  we  can  learn,  was  there  any  distinc- 
tion of  Church  membership.  There  had  been  preaching  to  popular  assemblies, 
sometimes  large  ones,  and  the  administration  of  the  Sacraments ;  but,  with 
the  exception  of  the  congregation  at  Cos,  there  had  been  scarcely  anything 
like  an  organization  of  the  Protestant  movement  anywhere  in  the  Republic. 
In  many  towns  and  hamlets,  there  were  little  voluntary  conventicles,  under 
the  care  of  leaders  chosen  from  their  own  number.  So  far  as  they  had  any 
form  of  ecclesiasticism,  it  was  Congregational  or  Independent.  They 
began  at  once  the  education  of  the  native  ministry  from  among  the  younger 
laymen.  Thirteen  were  selected,  who,  in  connection  with  their  secular 
avocations,  received  theological  instruction  twice  a  week,  and  were  em- 
ployed to  preach  on  Sunday  in  the  adjacent  hamlets. 

Great  attention  has  been  given  from  the  first  to  sacred  music  as  a  means 
of  interesting  and  edifying  the  people.  Mr.  Hutchinson  has  prepared  a 
popular  musical  publication,  embracing  eighty-six  hymns  and  seventy-three 
tunes,  thus  supplying  a  great  want  in  that  country.  This  book  has  been  adopted 
by  all  the  Protestant  missionary  organizations  in  Mexico,  except  the  Church 
of  Jesus,  and  it  will  render  good  service  in  mission  work  in  all  countries 
using  the  Spanish  tongue.  Miss  E.  P.  Allen  has  opened  an  English  and 
Spanish  girls'  school  for  a  higher  grade  of  education  than  is  common  in 
Mexico,  and  especially  for  the  training  of  teachers.  Mr.  Hutchinson,  among 
other  abundant  labors,  has  carried  on  an  evening  school  for  young  men ; 
number  of  pupils,  twenty-five. 

Congregations  looking  to  the  capital  as  a  centre  are,  1st,  that  of  Vera  Cruz. 


Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico.  7 

This  was  organized  eight  months  ago  by  Senor  Quesada,  formerly  a  pupil 
of  Mr.  Hutchinson,  but  now  a  clerk  in  a  banking  house.  He  has  preached 
most  of  the  time  without  compensation,  and  his  congregation  has  increased 
from  five  to  one  hundred.  They  furnished  the  hall  with  desks  and  seats 
made  with  their  own  hands  from  dry-goods  boxes. 

Another  congregation  is  situated  at  Tisapan,  a  manufacturing  village,  ten 
miles  from  the  capital.  The  people  purchased  a  lot  for  a  chapel  by  giving 
each  one  a  few  cents  a  week.  The  congregation  numbers  about  one  hun- 
dred. A  little  further  on,  at  San  Pedro,  is  an  interesting  congregation  of 
Mexicans,  entirely  of  Indian  blood.  They  have  mostly  helped  themselves, 
and  are  very  exemplary.  Across  the  lake,  which  lies  near  the  city,  is 
another  Indian  congregation,  who  have  nearly  completed,  by  their  own 
labors,  a  little  adobe  chapel.  At  Contradero,  15  miles  west  of  Mexico,  is  a 
garrison  with  a  population  of  several  hundred  soldiers,  and  other  citizens, 
and  here  a  congregation  and  a  school  have  been  established. 

Still  another  congregation  has  been  established  at  Rio  Grande,  a  place 
for  woolen  manufactures,  24  miles  west  of  Mexico,  the  proprietor  of  the 
factory  giving  the  rent  of  the  hall. 

At  Morelos,  southward  from  the  capital,  is  a  congregation  not  fully  organ- 
ized, supplied  by  young  men  from  the  city.  It  is  an  interesting  point,  as 
being  the  centre  of  eight  little  hamlets,  more  or  less  influenced  by  the 
Protestant  movement. 

Toluca,  which  is  the  capital  of  the  State  of  Mexico  (within  which  the 
federal  district  and  the  national  capital  are  situated),  is  worthy  of  being 
considered  as  a  fourth  chief  centre.  It  is  a  city  of  30,000  inhabitants,  situ- 
ated in  a  rich  valley,  and  surrounded  by  many  flourishing  towns.  About  a 
year  since,  Mr.  Phillips  found  at  this  place  an  English  layman,  Mr.  James 
Pascoe,  who,  while  pursuing  his  secular  business,  was  accustomed  to  preach 
to  a  few  of  his  neighbors  on  the  Sabbath  at  his  own  house.  Mr.  Phillips 
was  so  deeply  interested  in  the  discourse  and  in  the  man,  that  he  encoui- 
aged  him  to  devote  the  greater  portion  of  his  time  to  the  work  in  and 
around  Toluca.  The  results  of  Mr.  Pascoe's  labors  have  certainly  been 
remarkable.  His  letters  show  him  to  be  a  man  of  good  education  and  of 
earnest  spirit.  The  little  handful  that  met  in  his  house  have,  in  eigh\ 
months,  grown  to  a  congregation  of  perhaps  two  hundred,  with  one  hun- 
dred and  twenty-five  communicants.  He  has  organized  a  church,  with 
three  elders  and  two  deacons. 

Three  months  since,  the  priest,  embittered  by  his  successes,  posted 
through  the  city  a  placard  embellished  with  skull  and  bones,  calling  the 
people  to  a  wholesale  massacre  of  the  Protestants.  The  outbreak  was  ex- 
pected on  the  occasion  of  an  approaching  festival  of  the  Virgin.  Mr.  Pas- 
coe sent  a  private  messenger  to  Mr.  Hutchinson,  forty-five  miles  distant, 
stating  the  facts.  Mr.  H.,  through  our  minister,  Mr.  Foster,  laid  the  case 
before  President  Lerdo,  who,  within  two  hours,  sent  to  Mr.  H.  a  letter  for 


8  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico. 

the  Governor  of  Toluca,  ordering  him  to  suppress  the  mob  and  protect  the 
Protestants  at  all  hazards.  This  case  will  illustrate  the  importance  of  hav- 
ing our  missionary  work  represented  at  the  capital,  and  with  the  promptest 
means  of  access  to  our  minister  and  the  Government.  The  mob  was  sup- 
pressed at  Toluca,  but  broke  out  in  an  adjoining  town. 

Eighteen  miles  from  Toluca  is  Capulhuac,  which  has  already  become  a 
radiating  centre  of  good  to  the  surrounding  hamlets.  One  member  in  par- 
ticular, a  full-blooded  Indian,  is  preaching  regularly  to  his  own  people  in  an 
adjacent  town.  Still  another  congregation — an  outgrowth  of  persecution — 
has  been  formed  at  Metepec.  Briefly  its  history  is  this.  In  July  last  a  Bi- 
ble-distributor was  mobbed  by  the  Catholics.  A  company  of  Protestant 
sympathizers  led  by  Sr.  Valero  defended  him,  who  was  himself  mobbed  and 
nearly  killed.  These  persecutions  at  Metepec,  Toluca,  and  Capulhuac  have 
only  strengthened  the  congregations,  and  greatly  increased  the  circulation 
of  Bibles  and  religious  books. 

REPORT   ON   THE   MEXICAN    MISSION. 

At  a  late  meeting  of  the  Board,  a  Special  Committee,  consisting  of 
Messrs.  E.  M.  Kingsley,  William  A.  Booth,  and  William  E.  Dodge,  was 
appointed  to  report  on  the  Mexican  Mission.  It  was  felt  that  the  result 
of  that  review  was  to  deepen  the  conviction  of  the  Committee  and  the 
Board,  that  no  other  mission  under  its  care  had  met  with  greater  success,  or 
proved  itself  worthier  of  the  support  of  the  whole  Church,  than  that  of 
Mexico.     The  Report  is  as  follows  : 

The  Committee  appointed  at  the  last  meeting  to  consider  the  policy  of  our  work  in 
Mexico,  have  attended  to  that  duty,  and,  as  embodying  their  views,  the  following  reso- 
lutions are  submitted  to  the  Board,  and  recommended  for  adoption  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Republic  of  Mexico,  with  its  estimated  population  of  nine  mil- 
lions, until  recently  inaccessible  to  Protestant  missionaries  and  the  Protestant  Bible, 
but  now  open  and  free  to  both  ;  intimately  related  to  our  own  country  by  geographic 
contiguity,  by  political  assimilation  and  growing  commercial  intercourse,  has  claims 
upon  the  Board  second  in  importance  to  no  other  country  of  the  same  population  on 
the  globe. 

Resolved,  That  the  entering  into  Mexico  for  mission  work  in  1872  by  this  Board, 
finds  ample  justification  in  the  pressing  demands  incident  to,  and  inseparable  from, 
the  conditions  enumerated  in  the  foregoing  resolution,  in  the  fact  that  the  Presby- 
terian Church  has  been  hitherto  in  virtual  occupancy  of  the  field  under  another  form  ; 
and  in  the  repeated  deliverances  of  General  Assembly  from  1851  onward,  especially 
that  of  1871. 

Resolved,  That  in  entering  Mexico  this  Board  and  the  missionaries  have  studiously 
adhered  to  the  terms  of  the  compact  with  other  denominations  in  convention  of  1851, 
as  touching  the  rights  of  each  in  their  respective  districts,  and  cannot  allow  the  dis- 
cussion of  minor  questions  pertaining  thereto,  to  divert  or  hinder  the  work  they  have 
so  deliberately  inaugurated,  and  which  has  been  so  signally  blessed  of  God. 

Resolved,  That  the  mission  work  in  Mexico  is  heartily  commended  to  the  prayers, 
and  the  confidence,  and  the  most  liberal  support  of  the  Presbyterian  Church,  as  a 
work  wherein  results  already  ascertained,  and  the  indications  of  future  enlargement, 
are  full  of  encouragement. 

E.  M.  KINGSLEY,  Chairman 


Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico. 


THE   POLICY   AND   METHODS   OF   THE   BOARD. 

It  is  the  policy  of  the  Board  to  encourage  simple  forms  of  worship, 
plain  and  inexpensive  chapels,  and  in  all  things  that  strict  economy 
which  is  suited  to  a  poor  people;  to  cultivate  self-reliance  and  liberality  on 
the  part  of  the  congregations  themselves ;  to  train  up  a  ministry  from  the 
young  men  of  the  land ;  to  qualify  a  corps  of  native  teachers,  male  and 
female,  for  instruction  in  primary  schools,  etc.  The  whole  work  proceeds 
upon  the  principle  that  what  Mexicans  need  is  a  Protestant  church  wholly 
their  own,  to  be  in  the  near  future  supported  and  extended  by  themselves. 
This  line  of  effort  has  thus  far  proved  eminently  successful  in  gaining  the 
confidence  of  the  people,  and  in  stimulating  their  own  exertions. 

In  the  present  financial  embarrassment  of  the  Board,  its  work  has  suf- 
fered from  the  want  of  plain  and  inexpensive  structures.  A  chapel  in  the 
capital  should  at  once  be  provided,  which  shall  be  a  model  and  exponent 
of  the  Protestant  cause  in  Mexico.  For  this,  at  least  $10,000  should  be 
provided.  In  smaller  towns,  cheap  structures,  simple,  but  attractive,  are 
needed.  The  people  everywhere  will  do  something,  in  their  poverty,  to 
promote  these  objects.  Meanwhile,  the  prayers  of  all  who  love  the  cause 
of  a  pure  Christianity,  should  be  offered  on  behalf  both  of  the  missionaries 
and  of  the  truth-loving  people  who,  in  the  face  of  persecution,  are  trying 
to  maintain  the  standard  of  the  Cross.  It  is,  perhaps,  best  on  the  whole, 
that  the  Mexican  church,  in  its  infancy,  is  tried  as  were  the  Apostolic 
churches,  by  the  fires  of  persecution.  No  less  than  seven  of  our  little  con- 
gregations have  been  beset  by  Catholic  mobs,  and  in  some  cases  deaths 
have  followed.  The  stoning  of  worshipping  congregations,  the  purchase 
and  destruction  of  Bibles  and  religious  books,  are  common  occurrences. 


GENERAL  PROGRESS  OF  THE  COUNTRY. 

The  remarkable  religious  movement  now  advancing  in  Mexico  dates  from 
the  overthrow  of  Maximilian.  The  great  political  reaction  has  been  attended 
with  a  corresponding  religious  awakening.  Many  of  the  intelligent  classes 
have  felt  that  the  real  cause  of  the  country's  misfortunes  lay  in  the  long- 
continued  tyranny  of  a  grasping  and  besotted  priesthood.  The  people  are 
resolved  to  know  the  truth,  and  are  ready  to  put  their  own  interpretation 
upon  the  Holy  Scriptures.  Perhaps  the  chief  reason  why,  after  so  long  a 
chaos  of  revolutions,  the  Republic  seems  at  last  to  have  reached  stability, 
lies  in  the  moral  earnestness  which  springs  from  this  new  aspiration  for  the 
truth.  On  the  25th  of  September,  1873,  a  decree  was  issued  by  the  Presi- 
dent, declaring  that,  by  a  law  of  Congress,  the  Church  and  State  are  sepa- 
rated, and  that  Congress  is  precluded  from  passing  any  laws  that  shall 
either  prohibit  or  establish  any  religion ;  that  marriage  is  a  civil  contract ; 


io  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico. 

that  no  religious  institution  shall  receive  or  acquire  real  estate  except  as 
provided  in  the  Constitution,  and  that  no  one  shall  be  obliged  to  work 
agair.st  his  will  without  just  recompense  for  the  same.  The  laws  do  not 
recognize  monastic  orders,  nor  is  able  to  permit  their  establishment,  etc. 
The  Roman  Catholic  Church  has  thus  lost  control  of  the  nation.  The 
priesthood  denounce  such  laws,  and  have  excommunicated  all  who  voted 
for  them  ;  but  ours  is  an  age  in  which  such  weapons  are  harmless. 

The  great  advantage  gained  by  separation  of  Church  and  State  will 
appear  in  strong  light,  when  it  is  remembered  that  the  old  Constitution 
declared  that  the  Roman  Catholic  religion  was,  and  ever  should  be,  the 
religion  of  the  country  —  that  no  other  whatever  should  be  tolerated. 
There  are  some  who  are  not  clear  that  Protestant  missionary  effort  is 
needed  in  Mexico.  For  such  the  following  description  is  quoted  :  "  The 
Mexican  Church,  as  a  Church,"  says  Lempriere,  "  fills  no  mission  of  virtue, 
no  mission  of  morality,  no  mission  of  mercy,  no  mission  of  charity.  Virtue 
cannot  exist  in  its  pestiferous  atmosphere.  The  code  of  morality  does  not 
come  within  its  practice.  It  knows  no  mercy,  and  no  emotion  of  charity 
ever  nerves  the  stony  heart  of  the  priesthood,  which,  with  an  avarice  that 
has  no  limit,  niches  the  last  penny  from  the  diseased  and  dying  beggar ; 
plunders  the  widow  and  orphans  of  their  substance  as  well  as  their  virtue ; 
and  casts  such  a  horoscope  of  horrors  around  the  death-bed  of  the  dying 
millionaire,  that  the  poor  superstitious  wretch  is  glad  to  purchase  a  chance 
for  the  safety  of  his  soul,  by  making  the  Church  the  heir  of  his  treasures." 

THE    INDIAN  TRIBES   OF    MEXICO  — THEIR  ACTUAL 
CONDITION— SOCIAL  AND  SPIRITUAL. 

BY  JAMES    PASCOE. 

The  Indians  form  three-fourths  of  the  entire  population  of  Mexico,  and 
are  divided  into  three  distinct  classes:  ist,  the  subjugated  tribes;  2d,  the 
Pinto  Indians  of  the  Tierra  Caliente;  3d,  the  untamed  Comanches, 
Apaches  and  others.  At  present,  I  will  speak  only  of  the  subjugated 
tribes  as  being  most  numerous,  most  important,  and  as  those  who  are 
likely  to  be  first  brought  under  gospel  influence.  These  Indians  are  the 
broken-down  and  despised  remnants  of  the  old  Aztec,  Texcucan,  Tlascal- 
tecan  and  other  nations  who,  only  three  hundred  years  ago,  were  the  ruling 
powers  in  Mexico.  Three  centuries  of  the  withering  influence  of  Roman- 
ism have  sufficed  to  degrade  these  noble  tribes  to  the  level  of  beasts  of 
burden ;  stamping  out  almost  every  spark  of  liberty  or  virtue,  and  steeping 
them  in  superstition,  ignorance,  and  fanaticism  of  the  grossest  kind. 
These  tribes  still  retain  their  ancient  dialects,  although,  in  many  cases, 
corrupted  and  mixed  with  many  Spanish  words;  but  still  they  are  so  dis- 
tinct that  an  Indian  of  one  tribe  cannot  understand  the  dialect  of  another ; 
and  the  gulf  that  separates  the  Spanish-speaking  Mexican  from  the  Mexican 


Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico.  1 1 

or  Otomi,  or  Mazahua-speaking  Indian,  is  as  great  as  that  which  divides 
the  English  and  Chinese. 

As  a  rule,  the  Indians  have  their  towns  apart  from  the  Mexicans,  and 
the  lands  belong  to  the  whole  community,  each  man  having  a  right  to  cut 
firewood  or  boards,  etc.,  and  to  sell  them,  or  to  till  any  part  he  pleases ;  but 
no  one  can  sell  land  without  the  consent  of  the  whole  town.  Also,  each 
man  is  obliged  to  render  general  services,  gratuitously  when  required,  and 
the  expenses  of  religious  festivals  are  defrayed  from  a  general  fund,  to 
which  all  contribute.  The  Mexican  Government  has  endeavored  to  break 
down  this  system  of  clanship ;  but  the  Indians,  generally,  have  been  shrewd 
enough  to  evade  the  laws  and  remain  in  their  old  ways. 

These  towns  are  not  grouped  in  any  order.  Here  will  be  a  town  of 
Indians,  speaking  Mazahua ;  close  by  may  be  another  of  Spanish-speaking 
Mexicans  ;  a  little  further  on  a  village  of  Otomies — this  medley  being  seen 
in  the  neighborhood  of  all  large  cities,  and  each  town  preserves  its  dis- 
tinctive language  and  customs,  and  even  style  and  color  of  dress — the 
women  of  one  town  adopting  one  uniform  shape  and  color  of  garments. 
But,  at  a  greater  distance  from  the  cities,  we  find  large  districts  occupied 
wholly  by  Indians  of  one  tribe  or  another.  The  Indian  lives  generally  in 
a  rude  hut  of  shingles,  or  of  sun-dried  mud  bricks,  and  roofed  with 
shingles  or  grass  according  to  the  supply  at  hand ;  but  such  huts  are  low- 
roofed,  the  bare  earth  the  only  carpet,  and  wind  and  rain  finding  free 
entry  by  a  thousand  openings  in  walls  and  roofs.  The  one  room  serves 
for  every  purpose,  and  often  affords  shelter  to  pigs  and  poultry,  as  well  as 
to  the  family.  The  staple  food  is  the  maize  cake  (tortilla),  the  Indian 
very  rarely  tasting  animal  food — many  not  once  a  month,  and  thousands 
not  once  a  year.  Their  costume  is  also  simple.  The  men  wear  a  simple 
shirt  and  a  pair  of  cotton  drawers ;  the  women,  a  thin  chemise,  'and  a 
colored  enagra  (skirt)  rolled  around  their  waist;  and  the  children,  as  a 
rule,  in  unhampered  freedom.  A  "  petate"  (rush  mat)  for  a  bed  when 
obtainable,  and  a  "  zarape"  (blanket)  as  overcoat  by  day  and  bed-clothes  by 
night,  complete  the  Indian's  outfit.  These  Indians  supply  the  towns  with 
poultry,  vegetables,  pottery,  eggs,  mats,  and  other  similar  corn  materials, 
which  they  carry  for  many  leagues. 

For  instance,  an  Indian  starts  from  his  home  loaded  with  goods  weighing, 
on  an  average,  five  arrobas  (125  lbs.),  and  sometimes  eight  arrobas,  and 
will  travel  a  week,  and  often  two  or  three  weeks,  before  disposing  of  his 
wares.  He  calculates  how  many  days  the  journey  will  last,  and  takes  a 
stock  of  tortillas  to  last  the  whole  time,  allowing  six  tortillas  a  day,  which 
he  divides  into  three  portions  of  two  tortillas  each,  for  morning,  noon,  and 
evening  meal.  And  this  is  his  only  subsistence.  So  ignorant  and  stub- 
born are  these  Indians  that  they  oftentimes  refuse  to  sell  their  goods  on 
the  road.  I  have  seen  many  carrying  fowls,  for  instance,  to  sell  in  Mexico 
city ;  I  have  met  them  a  week's  journey  from  Mexico,  and  have  proposed 


1 2  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico. 

to  buy  the  entire  lot  at  the  same  price  they  hoped  to  realize  at  their 
journey's  end ;  but  no,  he  was  bound  for  the  city,  and  all  my  arguments 
were  vain  ;  not  a  chick  would  he  sell.  This  has  occurred  on  various 
occasions.  Charcoal,  plants,  etc.,  are  all  supplied  to  the  towns  by  the 
Indians,  and  it  is  astonishing  to  see  their  patient  endurance.  A  man  will 
spend,  at  least,  four  days  in  the  mountains  burning  the  charcoal ;  then 
carries  it  on  his  back,  a  day's  journey,  sometimes  more,  and  sells  it  for 
thirty-seven  cents,  thus  realizing  from  six  to  seven  cents  a  day.  In  the 
same  way,  the  poor  creature  fares  with  all  else.  If  he  sells  planks  or 
"  vigas,"  he  has  first  to  pay  for  liberty  to  fell  timber,  if  he  happens  not  to 
belong  to  a  town  rich  in  forests.  Felling  the  tree  and  hewing  out 
the  log  with  his  hatchet  occupies  a  day.  In  four  days  he  has  four 
"  vigas"  ready.  The  whole  family  is  then  assembled,  and  the  logs  are 
dragged  down  to  the  plain  and  placed  on  two  rude  wheels — also  the  work 
of  the  hatchet.  The  donkey  is  now  hitched  on,  and  husband,  wife,  sons 
and  daughters,  each  lending  a  hand,  away  they  travel,  one  or  two  days' 
journey  to  the  nearest  city.  On  reaching  it,  they  must  pay  an  entrance-fee, 
generally  only  three  cents  on  each  log ;  and,  at  length,  they  sell  their  logs 
at  thirty-seven  cents  each,  and  oftentimes  for  less. 

The  Mexican  cannot  do  without  the  Indian.  Farms  would  be  deserted, 
lands  untilled,  cattle  unattended,  and  the  markets  entirely  deserted,  were 
it  not  for  the  poor,  patient,  despised  Indian.  Worse  still,  the  poor  Indian 
is  the  staple  food  of  the  cannon,  and  without  him  the  Mexican  would  be 
unable  to  sustain  his  revolutions. 

It  may  be  asked,  how  is  it  that  the  Indians,  being  in  such  a  great  numer- 
ical majority,  allow  themselves  to  be  down-trodden  by  the  few  Mexicans 
who  rule  them  ?  It  is  because  Romanism  has  so  effectually  blighted  and 
crushed  out  their  old  chivalry  and  love  of  liberty,  and  has  steeped  them  in 
?.  degrading  and  profound  ignorance.  Excepting  the  few  who,  within  the 
past  few  years,  have  become  acquainted  with  God's  word  by  means  of 
Protestantism,  we  shall  be  safe  in  saying  that  not  a  single  soul  among  them 
has  ever  read  a  line  of  the  Bible. 

Very  few  of  the  men  can  read  or  write.  National  schools  are  found  in 
some  of  the  villages,  but  only  for  boys.  Schools  for  girls  are  almost  un- 
known. Perhaps  a  few  are  found  in  the  cities ;  but,  in  the  smaller  towns 
and  villages,  they  are  unheard  of.  Thus  the  Indian  women  are  kept  in 
profound  ignorance ;  a  vast  majority  of  the  men  are  the  same.  This 
mighty  engine  of  darkness,  wielded  by  the  skill  and  cunning  of  Romish 
priests,  has  produced  the  fearful  uncleanliness  of  body  and  soul,  the  stupid 
superstition,  and  bloody  fanaticism  which  now  characterize  the  Indian  of 
Mexico. 

Underlying  this  patient  humility  and  subjection  to  their  Mexican 
lords,  the  Indian  nourishes  a  deep-seated  and  ever-augmenting  hatred  of 
his  whiter  countrymen.       The    Indian   and    the    Mexican   races  do    not 


Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico,  1 3 

mingle,  except  in  isolated  and  exceptional  cases.  The  Indian,  in  his  neces- 
sary intercourse  with  the  Mexican,  naturally  acquires  a  knowledge  of  the 
Spanish  language;  but  they  jealously  avoid  speaking  that  tongue  unless 
compelled  by  necessity.  In  their  homes  not  a  word  of  Spanish  is  heard ; 
the  women  scrupulously  avoid  learning  it,  and,  of  course,  the  children  grow 
up  without  understanding  a  word.  I  have  gone  through  whole  villages 
and  not  found  a  single  woman  or  child  who  could  speak  Spanish.  I  have 
also  observed,  on  large  haciendas,  where  hundreds  of  Indians  are  em- 
ployed, and  where  they  daily  hear  Spanish  spoken,  many  of  the  women, 
who  come  weekly  to  the  pay-office  to  take  up  their  husband's  miserable 
salary,  although  understanding  Spanish,  nothing  will  induce  them  to  speak 
it ;  and  some  bailiff  or  head  workman,  an  Indian  also,  always  acts  as  in- 
terpreter. His  aversion  to  speaking  Spanish  is  also  seen  in  religious  mat- 
ters. The  Indian  refuses  to  confess  to  the  priest  except  in  his  own  native 
tongue.  Very  few  priests  understand  those  tongues ;  and,  to  surmount  the 
difficulty,  the  priest  has  a  list  of  written  questions  and  answers,  which  he 
learns  to  pronounce  like  a  parrot.  When  the  Indian  presents  himself,  the 
priest  reads  question  No.  1.  If  the  Indian  replies  in  accordance  with  the 
written  answer,  well  and  good ;  but,  if  not,  the  priest  reads  again,  until,  by 
good  luck,  the  right  word  is  uttered  and  the  hitch  overcome.  The  priest 
who  explained  this  ingenious  mode  of  confessing,  was  somewhat  perplexed, 
when  I  remarked :  "  But  suppose  the  Indian  confesses  to  some  sin  not 
down  on  the  list,  what  then  ?"  The  Indian  is  always  treated  as  an  inferior 
creature.  The  priest  requires  his  Mexican  parishioners  to  confess  and 
receive  the  Sacrament  very  frequently ;  but  the  Indian  is  not  expected  to 
confess  oftener  than  once  a  year,  and,  as  a  rule,  he  receives  the  communion 
only  at  marriage  and  when  about  to  die.  Once  in  a  life-time  is  considered 
enough  for  him.  The  march  of  liberalism  has  done  much  to  alter  this  state 
of  affairs ;  but,  not  many  years  ago,  the  Indian  might  confess,  but  could 
not  commune  without  a  special  license.  So  great  is  the  chasm  which 
separates  the  Mexican  from  the  Indian,  that  the  title  of  " gente  de  razon" 
or  people  of  reason,  is  given  to  the  former.  Nothing  is  more  common  than 
the  expression,  "  Is  he  an  Indian  ?"  "  No,  he  is  '  de  razon ;'  "  thus  making 
the  Mexican  to  be  a  reasonable  being,  in  contradistinction  to  the  poor, 
despised  Indian,  who  ranks  only  with  beasts  of  burden.  The  Mexican 
Indian  is  essentially  religious ;  his  whole  life  seems  devoted  to  the  service 
of  the  priests  and  saints ;  his  earnings  are  all  devoted  to  wax  candles  and 
rockets,  to  be  burnt  on  feast  days,  and  he  seems  to  think  of  nothing  but  pro- 
cessions and  pilgrimages  to  some  distant  shrine.  Since  the  days  of  his  Aztec 
forefathers,  the  only  change  which  the  Indian  has  undergone  in  religion  is 
that  of  adoring  a  San  Antonio  instead  of  his  ancient  god  "  Huitzilopochtle  ;" 
and  with  this  slight  change  in  the  objects  of  his  worship,  he  continues  to 
adore  on  the  same  sacred  spots,  and  with  many  of  the  ceremonies,  and 
with  all  the  ignorance  and  superstitious  zeal  as  did  his  pagan  forefathers. 


14  Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico. 

The  Roman  Catholic  priests,  in  days  gone  by,  in  order  to  divert  the 
Indians  from  their  Aztec  idolatries,  adopted  the  ingenious  plan  of  going  by 
night  to  some  heathen  temple,  removing  the  old  idol,  and  placing,  in  its 
stead,  a  crucifix  or  some  Catholic  saint.  The  next  day  the  Indians  were  amaz- 
ed to  find  a  new  god  instead  of  the  old  one,  and  at  once  accepted  the  change ; 
thiy  continued  their  worship  as  before.  Cannibalism  and  human  sacrifices 
have  died  out ;  but  if  we  view  the  Indian's  present  religion  from  his  own 
stand-point,  we  shall  see  that  really  he  finds  not  one  single  point  of  differ- 
ence. In  his  old  Aztec  religion  he  had  a  water  baptism ;  confession  to 
priests ;  numerous  gods  to  adore,  and  whose  aid  he  invoked  under  various 
circumstances-  He  worshipped  images  of  wood  or  stone ;  employed  flowers 
and  fruits  as  offerings,  and  incense  also,  and  offered  fellow-beings  in  sacri- 
fice, whilst  he  also  worshipped  a  goddess  whom  he  styled  "  Our  Mother  ;  " 
and,  in  his  worship,  dances  and  pantomimes  took  a  prominent  rank.  In 
his  new  Roman  Catholic  religion,  he  finds  baptism  and  confession ;  a  great 
host  of  saints  to  adore,  saints  for  every  circumstance  or  ill  of  life  ;  he  finds 
images  better  made,  and  of  richer  materials  than  the  old  ones ;  he  again  em- 
ploys fruits,  and  flowers  and  incense,  worships  another  goddess  as  "  Mother 
of  God,"  and  "  Queen  of  Heaven,"  and  "  Our  Lady."  He  is  also  taught  to 
believe  that  not  a  mere  fellow-being  is  sacrificed,  but  his  Creator  Himself — 
as  the  Romanists  declare,  in  real  and  actual  sacrifice,  thousands  of  times 
every  day ;  and,  as  of  old,  the  Indian  still  dances  and  performs  pantomimes 
in  his  religious  festivals.     Where,  then,  is  the  difference  ? 

As  a  proof  of  some  of  my  assertions,  I  will  mention  a  few  facts-  In  the 
large  town  of  "  Yinacaaupec,"  distant  about  two  leagues  from  Toluca,  I 
visited  the  annual  feast  on  various  occasions.  It  draws  an  immense  num- 
ber of  spectators  from  all  parts,  and  for  several  days  bull-fights  and  cock- 
fights, and  religious  processions,  hold  sway.  The  procession  is  a  very 
gorgeous  affair,  and  issues  from  the  church.  Banners  and  wax  candles, 
and  images  in  great  number;  music  by  the  band,  and  rockets  whizzing; 
but  the  greatest  feature  of  all  consists  of  a  number  of  Indians  dressed  in 
grotesque  attires,  with  skins  of  animals,  bull's  horns,  cow's  tails,  and  some 
with  their  heads  helmeted  with  the  entire  skin  of  game  cocks — altogether 
forming  a  wildly  fantastic  mob,  shouting  and  dancing  around  their  priests 
and  saints  like  so  many  imps  from  the  lower  regions.  The  famous  church 
of  "  La  Ville  de  Guadalupe,"  near  the  city  of  Mexico,  is  built  on  the  site 
of  an  old  Aztec  temple,  and  the  Roman  Catholic  priests  adopted  their 
usual  plan  of  removing  the  old  and  replacing  it  with  the  new  one,  and  by 
means  of  a  pretended  apparition  have  made  "  Our  Lady  of  Guadalupe"  be- 
come the  patron  saint  of  Mexico. 

The  far-famed  convent  of  "  El  Senor  de  Chalma,"  about  fourteen  leagues 
to  the  south  of  Toluca,  is  another  instance.  It  is  the  favorite  shrine  of  all 
the  Indian  tribes  of  the  land.  Formerly,  before  the  convent  was  built, 
the  place  was  occupied  by  an  Aztec   idol  located  in  a  cave.     This  idol 


Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico.  1 5 

existed  long  after  Roman  Catholic  churches  had  been  built  in  neighboring 
towns ;  and  the  Indians,  when  they  wished  to  have  a  child  baptized,  would 
first  carry  the  infant  to  be  blessed  by  their  Aztec  god,  and  from  there 
would  go  to  the  Romish  church  and  complete  the  ceremony.  To  make  the 
most  of  this  propensity,  the  Catholics,  in  their  usual  fashion,  stole  the  idol 
from  the  cave  and  placed  there  the  present  "  Lord  of  Chalma,"  which  is  a 
crucifix,  the  Saviour  being  painted  copper  color.  This  apparition  gave 
rise  to  a  convent  being  built ;  and  all  the  year  round  the  Indians,  whole 
families,  and  whole  towns,  make  pilgrimages  from  all  parts  of  the  land  to 
the  said  convent.  The  sales  of  candles  and  the  popish  requisites  are  enor- 
mous. A  shop  is  attached  to  the  convent,  where  the  poor  Indians  buy 
their  candles,  which  they  carry  to  the  priests,  who  remit  them  by  a  back 
door  to  the  shop  again,  where  they  are  sold  and  sold  again  many  times 
over.  But  here,  also,  the  chief  feature  of  the  Indian  worship  consists  in 
dances  inside  the  church,  which  is  of  great  size.  Eye-witnesses  assure  me 
that,  at  one  time,  can  be  seen  as  many  as  sixteen  distinct  groups  of  dancers, 
each  group  with  its  separate  band  of  music,  all  playing  different  tunes  at 
the  same  time,  and  the  worshippers  tripping  it  merrily  in  different  dances, 
producing  a  Babel  confusion  and  a  grotesque  pantomime,  which  baffles  de- 
scription. 

These  are  of  daily  occurrence,  and  are  a  true  and  faithful  specimen  of 
the  spiritual  condition  of  the  Mexican  Indians  of  to-day. 

THE    HACIENDA    SYSTEM. 

[From  a  Letter  of  Rev.  H.  C.  Thomson.] 

The  owners  of  these  haciendas,  called  "  Haciendados,"  are  despots  and 
tyrants,  and  have  more  absolute  power  than  any  class  of  men  in  Mexico. 
And,  as  they  are  generally  Spaniards,  they  are  all  fanatics.  Indeed,  I  have 
not  heard  of  any  that  were  not.  And  they  have  more  power  to  injure  us 
in  our  work  than  all  priests,  bishops,  and  archbishops  combined.  The  rea- 
son is  this,  that  they  are  the  proprietors  of  all  the  houses  and  lands  on  their 
large  territories  (sometimes  containing  more  land  than  some  whole  Eastern 
States  in  the  United  States).  And  it  seems  the  law  and  custom  give  them 
"  the  right  of  property  "  to  remove  any  man  or  family,  or  set  of  men  or 
families,  that  for  any  reason  become  obnoxious  to  them,  within  the  bounds 
of  their  domain.  They  often  imprison  without  any  legal  right  whatever, 
and  are,  in  one  word,  kings  with  unlimited  authority,  in  their  bounds.  Im- 
agine a  district  as  large  as  the  State  of  Massachusetts  or  Connecticut,  with 
large  tracts  of  tillable  land,  which  has  only  one  town  of  3,000  inhabitants, 
and  the  greater  part  of  the  land  lying  out  wild  and  untilled,  with  a  great 
number  of  men  willing  to  work  and  able,  who  are  not  allowed  to  do  so, 
because  the  owner  is  comfortably  situated  at  one  side  of  the  tract,  and  does 
not  wish  to  trouble  himself  to  look  after  more  laborers.     This  is  the  con> 


i6 


Presbyterian  Board  of  Missions  in  Mexico. 


dition  here.  I  mention  3,000  inhabitants,  for  when  a  town  on  a  hacienda 
has  that  number  they  may  petition  for  the  rights  of  a  town,  and  the  hacien- 
dado  loses  the  whole  place.  So,  when  the  number  of  inhabitants  approaches 
3,000,  he  begins  to  run  off  some  of  them  to  keep  the  number  below  the 
specific  number  for  a  town.  These  outlying  tracts  of  tillable  land,  which 
are  now  desert,  and  which  constitute  the  bulk  of  territory,  must  be  placed 
under  cultivation,  and  these  poor  starving  men  and  women  must  have  some 
means  to  gain  an  honest  living,  or  the  country  will  always  be  poor  and  full 
of  robbers.  Surely,  many  changes  are  needed  in  the  social  and  political, 
as  well  as  religious,  condition  of  Mexico. 


The  crosses  on  the  map  denote,  without  names,  the  various  missionary  stations  and  out-stations 
occupied  by  the  Presbyterian  Board. 


30 


MEXICO  MISSION. 


MEXICO    MISSION. 


The  Republic  of  Mexico  covers  an  area  of  700,000  square  miles,  arid 
extends  some  seventeen  degrees  of  north  latitude  and  over  thirty  degrees  of 
longitude.  It  is  divided  into  twenty-three  States,  and  its  present  population 
is  said  to  be  about  8,000,000. 

The  earliest  inhabitants  of  Mexico  known  to  us  were  the  Toltecs,  who 
entered  that  country  from  the  north  in  the  seventh  century.  They  are  regarded 
as  the  true  founders  of  the  civilization  which  was  enjoyed  for  a  long  period. 
After  them  came  the  Aztecs,  who  arrived  in  Mexico  at  the  beginning  of  the  thir- 
teenth century,  and  who  were  also  from  the  north.  They  not  only  spread  over  a 
large  territory,  but,  with  the  aid  of  some  neighboring  tribes,  they  extended 
their  dominion  from  the  Atlantic  to  the  Pacific.  Whilst  they  acknowledged 
one  Supreme  Ruler,  they  worshiped  many  gods.  Temples  abounded  and  the 
priests  were  numerous.  Human  sacrifices  mingled  with  their  worship,  and 
the  number  of  victims  annually  offered  to  appease  their  gods  were  said  to 
reach  as  high  as  50,000.  Cannibalism  also  existed,  especially  in  connection 
with  certain  religious  observances.  To  such  a  people  the  Spaniards  came  in 
1 5 18,  sword  in  hand,  and  with  a  determination  to  seize  upon  the  country  and 
enrich  themselves  with  its  fabled  wealth.  Their  leader,  Hernando  Cortez,  at 
once  pushed  into  the  interior,  and  stopped  not  until  he  had  possession  of  the 
far-famed  capital  and  its  vast  riches.  For  nearly  300  years  the  country  was 
governed  by  Spanish  viceroys,  and  not  till  182 1  did  the  people  throw  off  their 
allegiance  to  Spain,  retaining,  however,  the  Spanish  language,  customs,  dress, 
etc.  Many  of  the  people  intermarried  with  the  conquerors,  and  about  one- 
half  of  the  population  are  of  mixed  blood  ;  nearly  one-fourth  are  of  pure 
European  descent,  and  the  others  belong  to  the  indigenous  races. 

Whilst  Mexico  was  contiguous  to  the  United  States,  and  its  moral  condition 
was  more  or  less  known,  yet  until  recently  it  was,  as  a  mission  field,  wholly 
inaccessible. 

All  barriers  have  been,  however,  removed  to  Protestant  effort  by  the  Gov- 
ernment, and  the  country  is  open,  as  far  as  the  authorities  are  concerned,  to 
evangelistic  labor.  There  are  obstacles  in  the  way  to  a  hearty  reception  of 
the  truth,  and,  in  places,  to  a  free  declaration  of  the  same,  and  these  should 
be  considered  by  the  Church  to  influence  work,  prayer,  and  sympathy.  Let 
us  look  at  some  of  these.     The  first  is 

ROMANISM. 

For  300  years  Mexico  was  cursed  with  Spanish  rule  and  Romish  despotism. 
The  two  have  gone  hand  in  hand.     The  Spanish  adventurer,  however  dissolute 


4  Mexico  Mission. 

in  character,  deemed  himself  a  true,  if  not  a  heaven-inspired,  propagandist  of 
his  creed,  and  he  was  generally  accompanied  by  a  priest,  who  considered  all 
lands  not  under  papal  sway  as  belonging  to  the  Romish  See.  Mexico  was 
speedily  converted  to  the  Pope.  Submission  or  death  was  held  out  to  many. 
Whilst  here,  as  in  other  portions  of  heathendom,  the  transition  was  not  great 
from  idolatry  to  image  worship,  and  many  were  baptized  into  names  of  which 
they  knew  almost  nothing,  so  that  to  this  day  in  sections  of  Mexico  are  heathen 
rites  mingling  with,  or  attached  to,  Christian  observances.  Speaking  of  the 
conduct  of  Cortez,  says  a  writer  :  "  Having  cast  down  and  destroyed  the  altar 
in  one  of  the  Mexican  temples,  a  new  altar  was  erected,  which  was  hung  with 
rich  mantles  and  adorned  with  flowers.  Cortez  then  ordered  four  of  the  native 
priests  to  cut  off  their  hair  and  to  put  on  white  robes,  and,  placing  the  cross 
upon  the  altar,  he  committed  it  to  their  charge.  They  were  taught  to  make 
wax  candles,  and  Cortez  enjoined  them  to  keep  some  of  the  candles  always 
burning  on  the  altar.  A  lame  old  soldier  was  left  by  Cortez  to  reside  in  the 
temple,  to  keep  the  native  priests  to  their  new  duties.  The  church  thus  con- 
stituted was  called  the  first  Christian  church  in  New  Spain  (Mexico)."  The 
work  begun  thus  in  the  capital  reached,  in  time,  the  outlying  provinces,  and 
Dominican  and  Jesuit  were  busy  in  baptizing  the  people  and  rejoicing  over  their 
great  conquest.  The  bloody  Inquisition  was  soon  in  full  operation,  and  many  a 
victim  was  immured  in  the  gloomy  dungeon,  or  was  burned  in  the  fires  kindled 
by  it.  Church  and  State  were  also  united,  and  politically,  as  well  as  religiously, 
the  people  were  enslaved.  Churches  were  reared,  convents  established. 
Monastic  institutions  dotted  the  land,  priests  swarmed  everywhere.  Wealth 
and  power  fell  into  their  hands,  so  that  one-half  of  the  real  estate  in  the  coun- 
try was  said  to  be  under  their  control,  and  "  not  only  three-fifths  of  the  cities 
were  occupied  with  convents  and  churches,  but  there  were  convents  which 
occupied  a  large  part  of  the  city." 

This  great  wealth,  gathered  together  from  various  sources,  became  a  means 
of  corruption  and  a  weakness  to  the  Romish  Church.  So  that  we  have  the 
following  description  of  it  from  the  pen  of  Lempriere  :  "  The  Mexican  Church, 
as  a  Church,  fills  no  mission  of  virtue,  no  mission  of  morality,  no  mission  of 
mercy,  no  mission  of  charity.  Virtue  can  not  exist  in  its  pestiferous  atmos- 
phere. The  code  of  morality  does  not  come  within  its  practice.  It  knows 
no  mercy,  and  no  emotion  of  charity  ever  nerves  the  stony  heart  of  the  priest- 
hood, which,  with  an  avarice  that  has  no  limit,  filches  the  last  penny  from  the 
diseased  and  dying  beggar  ;  plunders  the  widow  and  orphans  of  their  substance 
as  well  as  their  virtue  ;  and  casts  such  a  horoscope  of  horrors  around  the  death- 
bed of  the  dying-  millionaire,  that  the  poor  superstitious  wretch  is  glad  to  pur- 
chase a  chance  for  the  safety  of  his  soul  by  making  the  Church  the  heir  of  his 
treasures."  This  fearful  arraignment  is  none  too  sweeping  when  the  condition 
of  Mexico  and  the  past  course  and  influence  of  the  Romish  Church  in  that 
land  are  considered.  She  has  done  but  little,  yea,  nothing,  for  the  moral  and 
social  elevation  of  the  people.     Mr.  Pascoe,  in  referring  to  the  condition  of 


Mexico  Mission.  5 

the  Indians,  who  were  once  the  ruling  power  of  that  country,  writes  :  "  Three 
centuries  of  the  withering  influence  of  Romanism  have  sufficed  to  degrade 
these  noble  tribes  to  the  level  of  beasts  of  burden,  stamping  out  almost  every 
spark  of  liberty  or  virtue,  and  steeping  them  in  superstition  and  fanaticism  of 
the  grossest  kind."  Here  is  a  power  that  has  seized  upon  certain  qualities 
of  our  nature,  and  in  the  name  of  Christ  wields  supremacy  over  them  ;  a  power 
that  is  entrenched  in  the  hearts  of  its  votaries,  and  rules  them  at  pleasure ;  a 
power  that  is  arrogant  in  its  claims,  compact  and  efficient  in  its  organization, 
strong  in  its  accumulations  of  wealth  and  lore,  and  that  has  skill  to  use  all  its 
resources,  and  a  will  to  carry  out  its  plans  ;  and  a  power  that  is  ever  vigilant, 
resolute,  and  united,  is  surely  a  most  gigantic  foe,  and  yet  this  power  has  to 
be  encountered  with  simple  truth  in  the  hands  of  a  few  earnest  laborers. 

IGNORANCE. 

There  is  more  general  knowledge  among  the  Mexicans  than  among  the 
Indians  of  the  country,  yet  it  is  said  that  seven-eighths  of  the  population  can 
not  read.  The  latter  are  regarded  by  the  former  as  principally  beasts  of  bur- 
den, and  though  bigoted  Romanists,  they  are  treated  as  low  in  the  scale  of 
humanity  by  the  priesthood,  who  are  indifferent  to  their  spiritual  wants.  Few 
of  them  can  read  or  write.  The  Indian  women  are  kept  in  profound  ignorance. 
It  is,  then,  no  wonder  that  this  portion  of  the  population  is  exceedirigly  super- 
stitious. All  the  earnings  they  can  possibly  spare  are  devoted  to  wax  candles 
and  for  rockets  to  be  used  on  festival  days  ;  while  their  time  is  freely  ex- 
pended on  processions  and  pilgrimages.  The  Bible,  except  as  introduced  by 
Protestants,  they  have  never  seen,  and  its  leading  doctrines  they  have  never 
heard.  Ignorance,  if  not  to  the  same  extent,  yet  as  real  of  the  cardinal  truths 
of  revelation,  prevails  among  the  ruling  classes.  Many  have  become  free- 
thinkers or  indifferent  to  religious  sentiments.  This  blind  superstition,  at  war 
with  a  manly  Christianity,  and  this  deep-seated  ignorance  or  hatred  of  Divine 
things,  will  greatly  interfere  with  the  presentation  of  positive  religious  knowl- 
edge and  with  its  acceptance,  especially  when  it  comes  to  them  from  those 
who  have  been  maligned  by  the  priests,  and  who  are  declared  to  retail  the  most 
pernicious  errors  at  war  with  good  morals  and  the  real  teachings  of  the  Bible. 
In  this  light  are  all  Protestant  missionaries  held  up  to  the  people,  and  their 
doctrines  as  vile  and  immoral. 

This  is  a  great  hindrance  to  the  propagation  of  the  Bible,  and  to  this  must 
be  added 

GROSS    IMMORALITIES, 

which  abound  in  Mexico.  The  action  and  conduct  of  many  of  the  priests  in 
attending  races,'  cock-fighting,  and  balls,  etc.,  their  gambling,  drinking,  and 
loose  habits  exert  an  injurious  effect  upon  the  lives  of  many,  as  well  as  cast 
discredit  upon  the  purity  and  power  of  the  religion  of  Jesus.  Many  of  the 
nunneries  were  hot-beds  of  vice,  and  Miss  Rankin  says,  on  the  testimony  of 
one  who  had  become  familiar  with  the  character  of  the  convents,  that  "  scarcely 


6  Mexico  Mission. 

one  out  of  twenty  girls  who  enter  them,  emerge  with  purity  of  heart  and  char- 
acter." Before  religious  liberty  was  guaranteed  to  the  people  the  marriage 
ceremony  could  only  be  performed  by  the  priest.  His  charge  for  attending 
to  this  was  so  exorbitant  that  few  could  meet  it,  hence  the  mass  of  the  people 
were  living  virtually  in  a  state  of  concubinage.  It  is  not  necessary  to  dwell 
further  upon  this  theme,  yet  it  is  a  fearful  hindrance  to  every  attempt  to  bring 
the  people  into  sympathy  with  holiness  and  in  conformity  to  doctrines  that 
are  pure  and  transforming,  especially  when  they  see  the  teachers  of  Christian- 
ity so  hostile  to  true  Scriptural  morality. . 

REVOLUTIONS. 

Instability  of  character  and  government  seems  a  leading  feature  in  the 
Mexican  people  and  nation.  Since  the  first  declaration  of  independence 
there  have  been  at  least  sixty  revolutions.  These  have  been  attributed  to  the 
ambition  of  military  leaders,  to  restlessness  among  the  people,  to  a  love  of 
plunder,  and  to  a  lack  of  appreciation  of  the  majesty  of  law  and  good  order  ; 
but  the  truth  is,  says  one  who  knows  the  Mexican  well,  and  who  has  lived  a 
long  time  in  the  country,  "  These  frequent  wars  are  but  outbreaks  of  unceas- 
ing struggle  between  sacerdotalism  and  the  desire  for  liberal  institutions." 
With  some  of  these  insurrections  the  priests  have  had  much  to  do,  as  by  them 
they  hoped  to  regain  their  lost  power  and  influence,  and  enjoy  the  property 
which  had  been  wrested  from  them.  Other  revolutions  have. been  occasioned 
by  disappointed  political  or  military  leaders,  who  have  been  willing  to  sacrifice 
the  good  of  others  to  their  own  personal  ambition  ;  but  the  real  cause  is  the 
lack  of  true  religious  principle,  in  rulers  and  people,  which  principle  gives 
fixedness  to  government  and  law. 

PERSECUTION. 

Religious  fanaticism,  when  aroused,  is  ever  dangerous,  and  especially  among 
an  ignorant  and  priest-ridden  people.  Knowing  this,  the  priests  have  not 
been  slow  to  foment  disturbances  and  to  arouse  the  prejudices  of  the  votaries 
of  the  Church  ;  they  have,  therefore,  ready  allies  in  the  poor,  ignorant,  and 
superstitious  Indians.  At  first  threats  have  been  employed,  then  more  active 
measures,  such  as  blows,  have  been  used,  and  in  not  a  few  cases  life  has  been 
taken.  The  attack  upon  Mr.  Hutchinson  at  Acapulco,  was  made  mostly  by 
Indians.  Mr.  Phillips  was  almost  murdered  by  an  infuriated  mob  whose  only 
cry  was  "  Death  to  the  Protestants."  Several  Mexicans  have  been  shot  or  in 
other  ways  killed  in  different  places,  for  no  other  reason  than  that  they  have 
become  adherents  of  Protestantism.  Their  lawlessness  and  fanaticism,  that 
may  burst  forth  on  any  occasion,  is  a  serious  hindrance  to  many  to  consider 
divine  truth  or  to  espouse  it  warmly.  They  must  look  carefully  to  the  conse- 
quences of  the  step  they  take,  as  well  as  to  the  act  itself. 

These  are  some  of  the  obstacles  to  the  successful  prosecution  of  the  work, 
and  are  worthv  of  the  attention  of  all  interested  in  it.     Not  a  few  overlook 


Mexico  Mission.  7 

them  in  their  desire  after  results,  while  others  imagine  that  the  inculcation  of 
better  principles  and  the  presentation  of  a  purer  Gospel,  will  speedily  draw 
around  the  missionary  large  numbers  eager  to  embrace  them.  There,  as  in 
other  lands,  a  preparatory  work  must  be  done,  and  blessing  from  above  gener- 
ally follows  labor  and  very  seldom  precedes  it. 

Whilst  these  tilings  must  be  considered  and  which  have  their  influence  upon 
effort,  prayer,  and  expectation,  there  are  compensations  that  have  weight, 
influences  that  are  beneficial,  and  advantages  that  may  counterbalance  the  evils 
named,  and  which,  when  properly  viewed,  may  give  new  stimulus  to  aggressive 
measures  and  new  power  to  evangelistic  agencies  ;  and  that  this  is  so,  is  evi- 
dent from  the  numbers  who  are  led  to  the  purchase  and  reading  of  the  Bible  ; 
who  are  brought  under  the  preaching  of  the  Word  ;  who  have  come  forward 
to  embrace  it,  and  who  have  been  ready  to  die  in  its  defense.  Some  have 
turned  against  Rome  for  political  reasons,  others  from  their  hatred  of  the  sys- 
tem which  she  inculcates,  but  many  from  a  feeling  of  unrest,  and  a  desire  to 
find  peace  and  salvation  through  a  divine  and  loving  Mediator.  The  very  means 
employed  to  injure  Protestantism  have  given  it  new  life  and  power,  and  that 
which  the  Papacy  sought  to  give  her  strength  has  proved  a  weakness.  Her 
adherents  have  been  the  bitter  opponents  of  religious  liberty,  so  that  those 
who  have  been  the  champions  of  civil  freedom  have  heen  ready  to  contend 
for  the  rights  of  conscience,  and  to  resist  Romish  wiles  and  policy. 

What  Rome  can  do  for  a  nation  and  people  is  seen  in  Mexico.  For  more 
than  three  hundred  years  she  has  had  full  possession  of  the  country.  Political 
power  was  virtually  in  her  hands.  Church  and  State  were  thoroughly  allied, 
and  there  was  no  one  within  her  bounds  to  declare  another  gospel,  or  to  seek 
to  wrest  power  from  her  hands.  The  oppressive  policy  of  Spain  and  the 
influence  of  the  free  institutions  of  the  United  States,  at  last  aroused  the 
people,  and  for  eleven  years  the  cry  of  independence  was  heard  amidst  the  din 
of  battle,  and  in  182 1  they  were  enabled  to  throw  off  the  yoke  of  Spain,  but 
that  of  Rome  remained.  The  Catholic  religion  only  was  allowed  and  recog- 
nized. This  continued  till  1857,  when  a  new  issue  was  made — a  war  for  con- 
stitutional liberty,  just  laws,  and  freedom  of  worship  began.  The  parties  were 
the  "Church,"  wielding  all  its  vast  resources,  and  the  Liberal  party.  In  i860 
the  latter  party  triumphed.  Mexico  was  thrown  open,  religious  liberty  was 
proclaimed,  Protestant  missionaries  were  invited  to  enter,  and  Church  property 
reaching  the  vast  sum  of  $200,000,000  was  confiscated.  Other  reforms  were, 
in  time,  inaugurated,  and  now  the  Church  and  State  are  wholly  separated. 
Marriage  is  declared  to  be  a  civil  contract.  Monastic  orders  have  been  abol- 
ished, slavery  is  virtually  destroyed,  and  the  fearful  abuse  of  large  religious 
establishments  is  prevented  by  limiting  the  amount  of  property  to  be  held  by 
such. 

PROTESTANT    EFFORTS. 

The  Bible  and  the  tract  preceded  the  preacher.  They  could  go  where  he 
could  not  find  access.     When  the  United  States  entered  Mexico  in  1847,  army 


8  Mexico  Mission. 

it  was  accompanied  by  the  Bible-agent,  who  sold  and  distributed  large  numbers 
of  the  Spanish  Bible.  After  this,  Bibles  passed  over  the  lines  between  the  two 
countries.  Then  came  agents  of  the  British  and  American  Bible  Societies,  who 
were  welcomed  by  many!  The  truth  began  to  operate  upon  some  hearts  and 
lives,  and  these  again  would  speak  of  it  or  read  it  to  others,  and  in  this  way  not 
a  few  became  interested  in  the  divine  oracles  who  had  never  seen  a  Protestant 
missionary.  In  1866  Miss  M.  Rankin,  who  had  been  laboring  on  the  borders 
of  Mexico  for  some  years  in  the  desire  to  benefit  the  Mexicans,  crossed  over 
into  their  country  and  began  more  direct  work  among  them.  She  was  followed 
by  the  Rev.  Henry  C.  Riley  of  the  Episcopal  Church,  and  who  was  sent  by  the 
American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union  in  1869.  Having  spent  several  years 
in  South  America,  he  was  well-acquainted  with  the  Spanish  language.  On  his 
arrival  in  the  City  of  Mexico  he  found  a  number  of  professing  Christians,  who 
gladly  welcomed  him,  and  his  presence  gave  a  new  stimulus  to  their  efforts 
to  spread  abroad  the  truth  as  it  is  in  Jesus.  Full  of  zeal  and  courage,  he  threw 
himself  into  the  work,  and  by  his  counsel,  means,  and  labors,  he  was 
soon  enabled  to  do  much  for  the  people.  Francisco  Aguilar,  rejoicing  in 
the  discovery  of  the  great  truths  of  the  Gospel,  gathered  in  Mexico  the  first 
Protestant  congregation  for  divine  worship  in  the  Spanish  language.  He  soon, 
however,  closed  a  life  of  great  self-sacrifice  and  devotion  to  the  good  work, 
leaving  a  congregation  of  some  seventy  souls  to  be  ministered  to  by  others. 
These  had  increased  when  Mr.  Riley  came  among  them  as  their  leader,  and 
among  those  whom  he  was  instrumental  in  leading  to  a  saving  knowledge  of  the 
Gospel,  was  a  Dominican  friar  named  Manuel  Aguas,  who  ran  a  short,  but 
brilliant  career  of  usefulness.  He  was  elected  by  the  ''Church  of  Jesus" — 
the  name  given  to  the  new  Mexican  Church — as  its  bishop,  and  expected  to 
have  come  to  this  country  for  ordination,  when  he  was  cut  down  in  the  midst 
of  his  labors.  This  new  organization,  though  supported  at  first  by  different 
denominations,  we  are  told  by  Bishop  Lee  :  "  From  the  beginning  the  ideal  in 
the  minds  of  the  leaders  of  this  movement  was  a  Church  purified  from  Romish 
errors  and  corruptions,  but  retaining  the  primitive  constitution  of  the  Spanish 
ante-Nicene  Church,  and  closely  allied  to  the  Protestant  Episcopal  Church  in 
the  United  States.  The  hope  was  cherished  at  the  outset  of  obtaining  the 
adhesion  of  one  of  the  Mexican  bishops,  and  thus  perpetuating  the  ministry  in 
the  order  which  they  desired,  but  the  way  was  not  then  opened."  This  Church 
was  in  thorough  sympathy,  and  is  now  in  the  closet  relationship,  with  the  Epis- 
copal Church  of  this  country.  Says  the  Rev.  Mr.  Riley:  "At  the  earnest 
request  of  a  Mexican  gentleman,  I  accompanied  him  on  his  return  to  Mexico 
(in  1869),  and  have  done  what  the  Lord  lias  enabled  me  to  do  in  behalf  of  our 
sister  Episcopal  Church  in  that  neighboring  republic."  And  in  speaking  of 
Manuel  Aguas,  he  says  he  was  enabled  u  to  win  over  multitudes  to  the  pure 
Gospel  and  to  our  sister  Episcopal  Church." 

Whilst  Miss   Rankin   and  those  with   her  were  at  work  in  Northern   Mexico, 
an  interesting  enterprise  had  been  begun  at  Cos,  a  mining  town  in  the  State  of 


Mexico  Mission.  9 

Zacatecas,  and  about  fifty  miles  from  the  City  of  Zacatecas.  This  has  been 
fostered  and  encouraged  by  the  efforts  and  teachings  of  Dr.  Prevost,  a  member 
of  one  of  our  churches  in  Philadelphia,  who  has  been  instrumental  in  accom- 
plishing much  good  in  that  region.  This  station  was,  for  a  short  period,  under 
the  care  of  the  American  and  Foreign  Christian  Union,  but,  having  no  laborer 
to  send  to  it,  it  was  soon  transferred  to  our  Board. 

PRESBYTERIAN    MISSIONS. 

The  attention  of  the  Presbyterian  Church  had  been  directed  for  a  long  time 
to  Mexico,  but  the  way  was  not  open  to  enter  it.  The  feeling,  however,  grew 
that  as  a  Church  we  should  no  longer  neglect  so  important  a  field,  as  it  bor- 
dered upon  our  own  country,  and  that  if  we  did  anything  as  a  Church  it  should 
be  given  through  that  channel  where  it  could  accomplish  the  most  effective 
good  and  in  the  most  economical  manner.  These,  with  other  reasons,  led  our 
General  Assembly  to  take  action  in  regard  to  Mexico,  and  as  soon  as  men  and 
means  could  be  found  they  were  sent  thither  by  the  Board.  This  act  was  con- 
demned by  some,  as  if  a  feeble  Society  that  had  no  ecclesiastical  connections, 
could  attend  to  the  wants  of  eight  millions ;  and  it  was  not  approved  by  others 
because  it  was  introducing  denominationalism  into  the  country,  as  if  it  were 
not  already  there  in  the  "  Church  of  Jesus  " — an  Episcopal  church,  though 
called  by  another  name. 

Rev.  Messrs.  P.  H.  Pitkin,  Henry  C.  Thomson,  and  Maxwell  Phillips,  and 
their  wives,  and  Miss  Ellen  P.  Allen,  sailed  Sept.  28,  1872,  for  Mexico.  They 
were  soon  followed  by  the  Rev.  M.  N.  Hutchinson  and  his  wife.  Instead  of 
finding,  on  their  arrival,  an  harmonious  body  among  the  converts  in  full  sym- 
pathy with  the  "  Church  of  Jesus,"  they  found  a  division  in  regard  to  prelacy  ;  a 
large  congregation  worshiping  by  itself  in  the  City  of  Mexico,  and  that  had 
sought  relations  with  the  church  at  Cos  and  others,  so  that  nine  of  the  village 
congregations  had  responded  to  their  circular  calling  for  a  bond  of  union  be- 
tween all  churches  that  preferred  a  simple  form  of  service  and  no  bishops. 
They  found,  also,  that  no  regular  church  had  been  organized  and  members 
properly  received,  but  that  any  who  wished  could  come  to  the  Lord's  table, 
even  little  children.  In  this  state  of  things,  Messrs.  Hutchinson  and  Phillips 
remained  at  the  capital,  whilst  Mr.  Thomson  commenced  work  at  San  Luis 
Potosi,  and  Mr.  Pitkin  at  Zacatecas  and  Cos. 

STATIONS. 

Mexico. — This  city  is  beautifully  situated  on  a  vast  plain  7,500  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea,  and  is  enclosed  by  lofty  mountains.  It  is  built  with  regularity 
in  the  form  of  a  square.  The  houses  are  generally  of  hewn  stone,  and  the 
streets  are  well-paved.  The  most  noted  edifice  is  the  great  cathedral,  500  feet 
long  and  420  feet  wide,  and  stands  on  the  site  of  the  pyramidal  temple  of  the 
Aztecs.     The  population  of  the  capital  is  said  to  be  over  200,000. 

In  the  peculiar  state  of  the  native  Church,  the  missionaries  had  much  to  do 


io  Mexico  Mission. 

at  first  to  become  acquainted  with  the  work  and  its  demands  ;  to  study  the 
things  that  make  for  peace ;  to  be  faithful  to  what  were  deemed  truth  and  right- 
eousness ;  to  encourage  and  to  restrain  ;  to  weed  out  the  noxious  ;  to  give  aid 
to  the  feeble  and  deserving,  and  in  various  ways  to  unify  and  develop  the  inter- 
ests of  Christ's  cause.  When  the  first  missionaries  sailed,  their  location  was  to 
be  determined  after  becoming  acquainted  with  the  state  of  things  in  the  coun- 
try. Soon  after  their  arrival  in  the  capital,  and  finding  a  party  already  in  sym- 
pathy with  the  principles  of  our  Church,  Mr.  Phillips  and  Miss  Allen  remained, 
and  they  were  soon  joined  by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Hutchinson,  who  took  charge 
of  this  station  ;  so  that  Mr.  P.  was  enabled  to  go  to  Zacatecas  to  meet  the 
demands  of  the  work  in  that  region.  Soon  two  schools  were  opened,  one  for 
each  sex,  also  an  English  and  Spanish  girls'  school  for  a  higher  grade  of  educa- 
tion, under  Miss  Allen.  A  popular  Hymn  and  Tune-book,  embracing  eighty- 
six  hymns  and  seventy-three  tunes,  was  prepared  by  Mr.  H.  A  supervision  of 
the  work  in  neighboring  villages,  preaching  and  teaching,  occupied  his  attention. 
As  soon  as  it  could  be  done,  a  church  was  organized  in  a  regular  manner,  and 
members  received  after  instruction  as  to  the  qualifications,  duties,  and  respon- 
sibilities of  those  who  make  a  public  profession  of  their  faith.  The  custom 
having  been  to  allow  any  who  entered  at  the  time  of  its  celebration,  to  partake 
of  the  Lord's  Supper.  Sixty-three  were  received  and  organized  into  a  church. 
This  number  has  been  greatly  increased  by  constant  additions. 

Near  the  close  of  the  year  1874,  a  delegation  arrived  in  Mexico  from  Aca- 
pulco,  a  town  on  the  Pacific  coast,  who  waited  on  Mr.  Hutchinson,  wishing  him 
to  visit  that  place  and  organize  a  church.  This  he  did,  after  a  weary  journey 
of  twelve  days  through  mountain  passes.  He  remained  here  some  time,  and 
organized  a  church  of  fifty-three  members.  One  night  the  congregation  was 
attacked  by  an  angry  mob,  who  had  been  incited  by  the  priest.  Several  were 
killed  and  more  were  wounded,  while  others  had  to  flee  for  their  lives.  God 
overruled  its  dispersion  to  the  advancement  of  the  truth  as  the  people  went 
throughout  the  province  preaching  the  Word.  There  are  now  in  connection 
with  Mexico  as  a  center,  including  Vera  Cruz  on  the  Gulf  and  extending  to 
Acapulco,  thirty-one  congregations  of  believers,  and  at  several  of  them  are 
interesting  churches.  There  are  al^o  employed  fifteen  native  preachers  and 
teachers.  There  is  a  great  demand  for  new  laborers  to  meet  the  wants  of 
newly  formed  congregations.  A  number  of  young  men  have  come  forward 
anxious  to  study  and  carry  forward  the  work.  Some  of  the  outposts  have  suf- 
fered much  from  mobs,  and  in  all  many  have  died  in  defense  of  the  truth. 

Zacatecas. — This  became  the  center  of  missionary  operations  in  the  province 
of  the  same  name,  and  was  occupied  by  Rev.  P.  H.  Pitkin,  who  remained  only 
a  short  time  in  this  region,  feeling  constrained  to  return  home.  At  Cos  was  a 
young,  vigorous  church  under  the  care  of  a  native  pastor.  A  church  was  organ- 
ized in  Dec,  1873,  at  Zacatecas.  There  were,  also,  interesting  congregations 
at  Salado,  Fresnillo,  Jerez.  The  number  baptized  in  1S73  was  l4^  adults. 
Mr.  Phillips  was  transferred  from  Mexico  to  this  point.     A  newspaper  that  had 


Mexico  Mission.  II 

been  in  existence  some  time  was  taken  hold  of  by  the  missionaries,  and  it  has 
grown  in  influence  and  power.  Schools  have  been  established,  and  much  has 
been  accomplished  for  the  diffusion  of  the  truth  in  this  section  of  the  Republic. 
There  are  twelve  congregations  in  connection  with  this  station. 

San  Luis  Potosi. — Mr.  Thomson  began  his  labors  in  1872 — the  first  Protest- 
ant who  had  engaged  in  evangelistic  work  in  the  city.  He  remained  here, 
acquiring  the  language,  and  was  able  to  organize  a  church.  He  was  obliged  to 
remove  to  Zacatecas  to  attend  to  the  wants  of  that  field,  and  to  assist  Mr. 
Phillips.     He  has  been  succeeded  by  Rev.  D.  J.  Stewart. 

Desirous  of  beginning  work  at  Queratro,  Mr.  Phillips  left  his  post  at  Zacate- 
cas, and  made  a  beginning,  but  he  was  soon  set  upon  by  a  violent  mob,  who 
sought  to  kill  him.  He  was  severely  wounded,  and  only  escaped  with  his  life 
through  the  interference  of  a  prominent  citizen  of  the  place.  He  was  obliged 
to  return  home  for  a  few  months.  Since  going  back  to  Mexico,  he  is  waiting 
for  the  developments  of  the  present  revolution  and  for  peace,  to  determine  his 
future  station. 

The  present  force  in  Mexico  is  as  follows :  Mexico  City,  Rev.  M.  N.  Hutch- 
inson and  wife,  and  Miss  M.  E.  Leason.  Rev.  Maxwell  Phillips  and  his  wife 
are  also  at  the  capital  temporarily. 

Zacatecas,  Rev.  Henry  C.  Thomson. 

San  Luis  Potosi,  Rev.  D.  J.  Stewart. 

Statistics  of  the  work  in  the  Northern  field,  owing  to  the  disturbed  state  of 
the  country  the  past  year,  are  very  imperfectly  given  ;  but  it  appears  that  be- 
fore the  disturbances  9  adults  and  5  children  had  been  baptized,  and  3  adults 
at  Cos  ;  1 1  adults  and  7  children  have  been  baptized  at  San  Luis  Potosi.  The 
number  of  communicants  is  over  500. 

In  the  Southern  Mission,  whose  center  is  the  capital,  under  the  general 
supervision  of  Rev.  M.  N.  Hutchinson,  the  statistics  for  the  year  are  as  fol- 
lows :  Native  preachers  and  helpers,  13 ;  native  teachers,  6 ;  number  of 
churches,  10 ;  whole  number  of  outstations  in  which  believers  are  found,  and 
more  or  less  effort  put  forth  by  the  mission,  45  ;  the  number  of  accessions 
to  the  churches  during  the  year  has  been  530;  total  membership,  1,857;  total 
average  attendance  on  the  Sabbath,  1,400 ;  pupils  in  Sabbath-schools,  400 ; 
boys'  day-school,  155;  girls'  day-schools,  128. 

The  little  church  at  Tampico,  on  the  coast  of  the  Gulf,  has  been  specially 
prospered,  having  received  over  40  accessions  on  a  single  Sabbath. 


THE 


Gaboon  and  Coeisco  Mission 


BY 


Rev.  R.  H.  NASSAU,  M.  D. 


NEW  YORK:    . 
BOARD    OF    FOREIGN    MISSIONS 
23  CENTRE  STREET. 


THE 


GABOON  AND  CORISCO  MISSION. 


I.    WORK    OF    THE    MISSION. 

Name. 

The  Gaboon  Mission,  established  in  1842,  by  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  and  the 
Corisco  Mission,  in  1849,  by  the  Presbyterian  Board  of  Foreign  Missions, 
working  together  side  by  side,  and  practically  one,  became  one,  on  the  oc- 
casion of  the  union  of  the  two  Presbyterian  Bodies,  in  1870.  The  New 
School  brethren,  who  had  been  the  principal  supporters  of  the  Gaboon, 
wished  to  retain  a  mission,  whose  memories  were  sacred  to  them ;  and  it 
was  harmoniously  handed  by  the  A.  B.  C.  F.  M.,  to  our  Board.  The  united 
Mission,  retaining  the  names  of  its  two  constituents,  is  known  now  as  the 
Gaboon  and  Corisco  Mission.  Its  history  claims,  in  common,  whatever  was 
once  singular  and  separate. 

Location. 

We  may  say,  therefore,  that  the  Gaboon  and  Corisco  Mission  was  founded 
on  the  west  coast  of  Africa,  in  the  Gaboon  River,  among  the  Mpongwe 
tribe,  at  Baraka  Station,  15  miles  north  of  the  Equator,  and  12  miles  up  the 
river  from  Point  Clara  (the  cape  on  the  right  bank  of  its  mouth),  by  Revs. 
John  Leighton  Wilson  and  Benjamin  Griswold,  on  their  landing  there, 
June  22d,  1842.  They  were  immediately  followed,  on  December  1,  by  Rev. 
William  Walker  and  Mrs.  A.  E.  Wilson. 

Reinforcements. 

From  time  to  time  were  sent  reinforcements  of  men  and  women,  of  vary- 
ing endowments  of  mind  and  spirit,  and  with  different  physical  constitutions. 
In  a  land  of  narrow  comfort  and  untried  climate,  some  were  cut  down  early. 
Others,  for  various  reasons,  returned,  and  are  still  living  in  America.  In  this 
hasty  review — omitting  to  mention  the  names  of  arrivals  too  recent  for  his- 
tory, and  of  others  whose  lives,  however  beautiful,  or  residences,  however 
useful,  were  painfully  short — the  list  of  those  sent  out  since  the  original 
founders  would  include  the  names  of  Bushnell,  Preston,  Best,  Mackey, 
Ford,  Porter,  McQueen,  Pierce,  Herrick,  Clemens,  De  Heer,  Adams,  Loomis, 
Ogden,  Clark,  Nassau,  Paull,  Reutlinger. 

But  the  entire  history  of  the  Mission  could  be  grouped  around  the  names 
of  a  few  whose  lives  cover,  at  its  three  principal  stations,  its  entire  exist- 
ence— At  Baraka,  Revs.  J.  L.  Wilson,  D.  D. ;  William  Walker,  and  A.  Bush- 


nell  and  their  wives;  on  Corisco,  Revs.  J.  L.  Mackey,  and  C.  De  Heer,  and 
their  wives;  and  at  Benita,  Revs.  George  Paull,  and  R.  H.  Nassau,  and  Mrs. 
Nassau. 

Stations. 

Various  attempts  at  enlargement  were  made  :  From  the  original  Baraka 
Station,  up  the  river  to  Ozyunga,  3  miles  ;  to  Olendebenki,  on  the  Ikai 
Creek,  among  the  Bakele  tribe,  25  miles ;  to  Nengenenge,  60  miles ;  and 
two  native  sub-stations  in  the  Orungu  and  Pangwe  tribes ;  the  principal 
Corisco  station,  Evangasimba,  among  the  Benga  tribe,  in  1849,  north  40 
miles — and  thence  Ugobi ;  Alongo  ;  and  five  native  sub-stations  in  the 
Benga,  Mbiko,  and  Bapuku  tribes ;  Mbade  at  Benita,  90  miles  north,  among 
the  Kombe  tribe,  in  January,  1865 — thence  Bolondo  ;  and  four  native  sub- 
stations in  the  Kombe  and  Balengi  tribes.  These  native  stations  have 
mostly  been  sustained,  even  in  adverse  times.  But  in  some  of  the  dark 
hours  that  were  permitted  to  come,  there  have  been  reductions  even  of  prin- 
cipal stations ;  so  that,  at  present,  there  are  of  the  latter  only  Baraka,  occu- 
pied by  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Bushnell  and  two  unmarried  ladies;  Evangasimba, 
Mr.  Gillespie,  and  three  ladies;  Alongo,  Mr.  and  Mrs.  De  Heer;  Mbade, 
Messrs.  Kops  and  Murphy. 

Schools. 

Schools  were  gathered  at  almost  every  Mission-house,  even  of  the  native 
agents — the  principal  success  being  at  the  Baraka  Boys'  and  Girls'  Semi- 
nary, under  the  care  successively  of  Revs.  Messrs.  Walker,  Preston,  Bush- 
nell, and  their  wives ;  the  Boys'  School  at  Alongo,  successively  under  the 
care  of  Revs.  Messrs.  Clemens,  Clark,  and  De  Heer  and  their  wives;  and 
the  Girls'  School  at  Evangasimba,  under  the  care  successively  of  Mrs. 
Mackey,  Mrs.  Ogden,  and  Mrs.  Nassau. 

Parents  were  ready,  from  the  first,  to  send  boys  to  school ;  for  they  recog- 
nized the  pecuniary  advantage  accruing  to  them  from  their  sons  having  an 
education  which  could  be  diverted  to  uses  of  trade.  But  they  objected  to 
their  girls  being  educated — they  needed  their  service  too  constantly  in  the 
numerous  works  that  fill  a  Guinea  woman's  lot,  as  daughter  or  young  wife 
(in  either  case,  a  servant  and  slave) ;  and  they  did  not  wish  women  to  obtain 
those  civilized  ideas  of  woman's  right  and  dignity  which  would  make  them 
less  sul  missive  servants. 

These  are  boarding-schools — the  food  and  clothing  provided  by  the  Mis- 
sion being  not  only  an  inducement  to  parents  to  send,  but  a  necessary  part 
of  our  plan  to  separate  the  children  as  much  as  possible  from  the  evil  influ- 
ences of  their  heathen  homes  and  villages.  The  exercises  of  the  schools 
are  not  simply  literary  —  they  include  industrial  work.  The  literary  are 
necessarily  of  a  very  rudimentary  kind  :  First,  the  native  Primer  ;  and  when, 
in  six  months-,  the  pupils  have  read  the  Scriptures  in  their  own  tongue,  they 
are  permitted  to  take  up  English  Spelling,  Reading,  Catechisms,  Geography, 
History,  Grammar,  Arithmetic.     The  industrials  are  all  such  works  as,  in 


this  country,  we  would  call  on  our  own  children  to  do  at  table,  in  kitchen,  and 
in  bed-room.  For  the  larger  girls,  there  are  sewing  of  their  own  dresses, 
and  boys'  pants  and  shirts,  washing,  ironing,  and  cooking  their  own  food  ; 
for  the  lads  and  young  men,  there  are  clearing  of  premises,  carpentering, 
repairing  of  thatch,  errands,  boating. 

Churches. 

Church  organizations  were  made  at  Baraka  and  Evangasimba  at  once  on 
the  location  of  the  original  missions  there,  and  at  Mbade,  in  December,  1865. 
Despite  losses  in  localities,  there  has  been  through  the  field  a  steady  in- 
crease in  membership.  The  church  at  Evangasimba  had,  at  one  time,  as 
many  as  seventy,  from  whom  were  set  off  about  twenty,  as  the  nucleus  of 
the  Benita  church.  Growth  has  come,  not  only  from  pupils  of  the  schools, 
but  from  others  not  educated  at  all,  who  heard  the  Gospel  in  village  visita- 
tions and  itinerations.  The  members  have  been  as  consistent  as  charity 
would  expect,  when  we  consider  the  circumstances  of  their  early  depravity, 
the  unbarred  avenues  to  constant  sources  of  temptation,  and  their  limited 
means  of  grace.  There  have  been  seasons  of  revival  and  rejoicing,  of 
declension  and  discipline.  The  saddest  falls  have  been  under  the  powerful 
temptations  presented  by  foreign  lust  and  rum  at  Gaboon.  The  foreign 
captain,  who  has  left  his  white  wife  at  home,  has  hired  "  an  ebony  wife  or 
wives  by  the  week  or  by  the  run  in  Africa;"  and  among  these  wretched 
women  have  been  some  of  our  school-children  and  church-members,  sold 
by  their  own  parents,  husbands,  or  brothers.  British  and  American  Chris- 
tians have  sent  to  the  heathen  hundreds  of  thousands  of  gallons  "  of  liquid 
damnation."  "  The  missionary  works  at  the  entrance  of  Gehenna."  "  But 
for  the  rum-trade,  the  native  membership  of  the  church  would  have  been 
reckoned  by  hundreds  instead  of  tens." 

Native  Agents. 

Native  aid  has  been  sought  and  used  to  the  limit  of  prudence.  All  who 
could  be  useful  in  any  way  as  interpreters,  teachers,  monitors,  catechists, 
exhorters,  Bible-readers,  elders,  or  ministerial  candidates,  being  employed 
whenever  they  expressed  the  slightest  desire  for  usefulness.  In  an  often 
reduced  state,  the  Mission  could  not  have  sustained  the  work  at  even  its 
dying  rate  without  these  humble  and,  some  of  them,  but  slightly-educated 
agents.  Placing  a  high  standard  before  ministerial  candidates,  and  keeping 
them  on  long  probation,  most  of  them  wearied ;  and,  though  still  useful  in 
other  ways,  laid  aside  expectations  of  the  ministry ;  so  that,  at  Gaboon, 
only  two  became  licentiates,  and  went  no  further.  Of  the  candidates  and 
licentiates  made  as  early  as  i860,  at  Corisco,  only  one,  Brother  Ibiya,  had 
the  patience  to  persevere,  and  the  purity  to  stand  tests ;  and  has  proved 
himself  worthy  of  his  ordination  laid  in  1870.  The  comparatively  new 
ground  at  Benita  has  shown  an  unusual  richness  in  candidates. 


6 

Work  for  Women. 

The  simple  existence  of  the  foreign  Christian  lady  in  the  Mission  house- 
hold, ennobling  it  as  wife  and  mother,  was,  independent  of  her  word,  or 
prayer,  or  exhortation,  a  standing  example  to  native  women  of  what  their 
brutal  homes  might  become.  But,  beyond  this,  direct  attention  to  the  ele- 
vation of  heathen  women  was  given  by  their  sympathizing  foreign  visitors 
from  the  first — not  only  in  the  special  work  of  girls'  schools,  but  in  efforts  in 
what  has  since  so  prominently  and  importantly  become  itself  a  special  work — 
/.  e.,  visiting  women  in  their  villages.  To  this  ever  turned  the  eyes  of  brave 
missionary  sisters — nameless  in  this  narrative — unmarried  ladies  or  women 
whose  names  and  works  are  here  included  in  their  husbands'.  It,  of  course, 
could  be  attended  to  but  irregularly,  and  therefore  without  very  patent 
results,  while  the  missionary  lady  had  her  time  occupied  by  household  or 
school.  Mrs.  Griswold,  at  Gaboon,  after  her  husband's  death  in  1849, 
"  wholly  devoted  her  life  to  the  poor  women  and  girls,  teaching  them  dur- 
ing the  day,  visiting  the  women  afterwards,  and  meeting  them  on  the  Sab- 
bath in  their  own  villages,  where  the  noisy  women  stopped  their  disputes, 
and  gathered  round  her  eagerly,  catching  every  word  that  fell  from  her  lips." 
Mrs.  Clemens  and  Mrs.  McQueen,  on  their  respective  returns  to  Corisco 
after  the  deaths  of  their  husbands,  and  while  connected  with  the  girls' 
school,  and  Mrs.  De  Heer  in  connection  with  her  husband's  work  at  Alongo, 
did  much  of  this  same  work.  At  Benita,  Miss  Nassau  inaugurated  for  the 
Mission  the  systematic  employment  of  Bible-women,  educating  for  that  ser- 
vice a  Liberian  assistant  (Miss  Sneed),  and  calling  out  the  hidden  worth  of 
a  native  Benga  woman,  Matomba. 

Salient  Historic  Points. 

The  Mission  has  had  in  its  history  critical  periods — times  when  hope  has 
been  high  ;  other  times  when  the  greatest  grace  exercised  was  that  of  simple 
continuance. 

The  seizure  by  the  French  of  the  Gaboon  coast  in  1843,  threatened  the 
destruction  of  the  Mission  only  a  year  after  its  location ;  then  came  that 
cloud  of  foreign  vice  and  intemperance,  and  the  inception  of  that  "  one, 
long  conflict,"  than  which  "  never  was  a  more  formidable  struggle."  Then 
the  return  of  the  Rev.  Dr.  and  Mrs.  J.  L.  Wilson  in  1852  to  the  United 
States,  after  eighteen  years  of  service  in  Africa ;  but  continuing  his  service 
for  Africa  and  Foreign  Missions,  as  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  our  Board,  for 
eight  years,  and  still  living  in  the  same  capacity  in  the  Southern  Pres- 
byterian Church.  Then  the  short  and  brilliant  lives  of  Rev.  H.  M.  Adams, 
dying  August  13,  1856,  and  Rev.  H.  P.  Herrick,  dying  December  20,  1857; 
then,  in  i860  to  1862,  a  refreshing  ingathering  to  the  church.  Then  the 
long  waiting,  no  male  missionary  being  added  during  the  ten  years  succeed- 
ing the  returns  to  this  country  of  Rev.  A.  D.  Jack  in  1859,  and  Rev.  M.  L. 
St.  John,  M.  D.,  in  1861 ;  and  during  all  that  decade  Mr.  Walker  sometimes 


almost  alone  in  waging  that  one  long  conflict — his  companions,  Messrs. 
Preston  and  Bushnell,  alternating  in  association  with  him  in  care  of  Baraka 
and  furlough  to  America.     Then  the  revival  of  1871. 

At  Corisco,  under  the  united  rare  judgment  of  Mr.  Mackey,  untiring  zeal 
of  Mr.  Clemens,  and  skilful  educating  of  Mr.  McQueen,  the  early  history 
was  bright.  The  influence  of  Mr.  Mackey  was  formative  of  the  estimation 
held  of  the  mission  in  the  native  mind.  "  Mackey ''  became  a  synonym  for 
"missionary;"  so  that  newer  brethren,  whose  names  some  natives  had  not 
learned,,  are  known  to  have  been  called  "  Mackey,"  just  because  it  was  un- 
derstood they  were  missionaries.  And  when  they  failed  to  embody  the 
traditional  idea  connected  with  the  name  they  soon  were  told  of  it.  Under 
Mr.  McQueen's  formative  influence,  the  pupils  of  his  Ugobi  school  have 
since  stood  as  the  accurate  English  interpreters,  teachers,  and  prominent 
young  men  of  the  mission,  for  almost  all  his  successors.  Then  came  ex- 
citements by  Ukuku,  (the  native  oracle),  that  frightened  church-members 
and  drove  away  pupils;  then  the  agitations  by  the  Spanish ;  then,  in  1865, 
the  radical  change  in  Corisco  plan,  that,  no  longer  concentrating  on  the 
island  (where  the  two  expectations,  of  immunity  from  fever,  and  of  raising 
up  native  agents  whose  travels  should  make  itineration  by  us  to  distant 
parts  entirely  unnecessary,  had  failed),  took,  with  no  greater  chances  of 
fever,  a  wider  sphere,  and,  with  the  necessity  for  superintendence  of  native 
agents,  a  shorter  and  less  arduous  path,  by  a  division  and  transfer  to  the 
mainland  at  Benita ;  and  the  merging  of  the  Ugobi  school  for  Benga  boys 
into  the  Alongo,  which  thus  lost  its  distinctive  character  as  a  school  solely 
for  mainland  tribes,  the  diminution  of  tribal  jealousy  making  a  separation 
of  pupils  no  longer  necessary. 

At  Benita  the  short  labor  of  Mr.  Paull  in  1865,  apostolic  in  its  success, 
planted  a  vineyard  whose  fruit  his  two  immediate  successors  have  gathered 
and  pressed  as  a  wine  that  has  gladdened  many  hearts.  Then  came  the 
last  sad  crisis  in  March  1871,  when,  after  successive  bereavements  through 
the  entire  field  by  death,  and  returns  to  America,  the  old  Gaboon  Mission 
about  to  be  entirely  vacant, — Mr.  and  Miss  Nassau,  the  sole  representatives 
of  the  old  Corisco  Mission,  temporarily  closed  the  stricken  Benita  home, 
confiding  the  property  to  the  hands  of  a  few  honest  natives,  and  went  to 
Gaboon  to  occupy  and  preserve  from  threatened  French  Jesuit  spoliation 
the  Baraka  station,  in  the  interval  of  a  few  months  between  Mr.  Walker's 
departure  and  Mr.  Bushnell's  return.  The  Mission  was  at  its  lowest  ebb, 
then  began  a  day  of  brighter  things.  The  rising  tide  of  sympathy  in  the 
church,  sent  precious  aid,  that  arrived  in  June  187 1,  to  conserve  the  fruit 
of  the  labors  of  the  past,  and  to  enlarge  the  contracted  borders. 

Silver  Linings. 
Where  just  two  years  ago,  there  were  only  one  male  and  one  female  white 
missionary,  are  now  five  male  and  seven  female  missionaries.     The  presence 


8 

of  a  Mission  yacht,  the  sloop  Elfe,  has  done  away,  for  the  ladies  entirely,  and 
to  a  large  extent  for  the  gentlemen,  with  the  necessity  for  traveling  the  ocean 
in  little  open  sail-boats.  Regular  monthly  trips  of  British  mail  steamers 
stopping  at  Gaboon,  bring  the  mission  in  access  to  America  a  month  nearer; 
and  a  wise  disposition  of  present  force  (still  insufficient  to  man  even  the 
stations  of  the  past),  in  companies  rather  than  in  single  isolation,  gives  a 
little  of  that  social  life  and  companionship,  the  lack  of  whose  aid  has  too 
slightly  entered  into  the  account  of  former  ill-health. 

2.    RESULTS. 

i.  Church-members. — There  are  in  the  three  churches  a  total  membership  of 
150;  a  number  which  gives  cause  for  gratitude,  to  those  who  are  aware  of 
(few  in  this  country  can  be  made  to  properly  appreciate)  the  intense  influ- 
ences that  prevent  coming  to,  and  that  drive  away  from  Christ. 

2.  Civilization. — The  physical  aspect  of  the  people  is  much  changed  by 
the  civilization  of  those  who  have  not  been  able  to  leave  off  evil  customs 
so  far  as  to  unite  with  the  church,  and  yet  in  regard  to  whose  salvation  we 
are  not  hopeless,  even  if  they  should  never  enter  our  communion.  1.  Dress 
is  becoming  civilized.  Instead  of  the  four  or  five  yards  of  calico  cloth,  the 
common  dress  of  men  and  women,  wrapped  about  the  loins,  and  the  uni- 
form nakedness  of  the  children,  most  men  now  add  a  shirt  to  the  cloth,  or 
have  substituted  for  it  shirt  and  pants.  And  on  Sabbath,  women  come  to 
church,  their  bodies  covered  entirely  by  cloths  or  by  a  frock.  This  they  do 
not  wear  constantly  during  the  week  days,  for  while  they  still  have  to  do  so 
much  of  work  in  the  forests,  the  skirts  would  be  in  the  way  of  the  thorns 
and  branches.  2.  Houses  are  still  built  of  bamboo,  but  it  makes  a  sufficient- 
ly comfortable  building  if  used  with  skill.  Instead  of  their  huts,  with  a 
single  room  on  the  ground,  they  now  imitate  our  varied-roomed  and  post- 
elevated  dwellings. 

3.  Marriages. — No  marriage  contract  and  scarcely  any  ceremony  former- 
ly existed.  Woman,  when  still  a  child,  was  bought  as  an  ox  would  be. 
The  Mission  ceased  to  recognize  the  native  relation  as  a  marriage,  and  re- 
quired all  men  and  women  who  had  been  living  together  previous  to  their 
becoming  Christians,  if  they  wished  to  retain  the  same  relation,  to  be  mar- 
ried by  Christian  ceremony.  A  few  of  the  more  enlightened  heathen  liking 
our  mode,  have  sought  to  have  it  performed  for  them  also. 

4.  Change  of  Customs. — Customs  are  everywhere  clung  to  just  because 
they  have  been  customs.  In  them  are  tied  up  its  superstitions — the  religion 
of  the  country.  1.  Witchcraft  murders,  consequent  on  every  death,  had 
their  foundation  in  the  belief  in  spirits,  and  the  power  of  those  spirits,  to  act 
destructively  through  persons  in  voluntary  conjunction  with  them,  who  thus 
made  themselves,  in  heart,  murderers.  Immediately,  therefore,  after  any 
death,  investigation  was  made  as  to  who  the  murderer  was ;  and  some  one  was 
fixed  on  by  the  sorcerer-doctor  and  put  to  death  often  with  tortures.     These 


executions  no  longer  occur  in  the  vicinity  of  the  Mission,  when  we  can  hear 
of  the  death  in  time  to  interfere.  2.  The  funeral  rites,  which  were  insincere, 
burdensome,  and  superstitious,  and  which  gave  occasion  for  wild  gossip,riot- 
ous  eating  and  drinking,  and  licentiousness,  have  been  protested  against, 
particularly  at  Benita,  and  are  discarded  by  most  of  the  church-members. 

5.  Desire  for  Education. — A  desire  for  education  is  becoming  general,  so 
that  many  have  learned  to  read  in  their  own  homes,  independent  of  the 
Mission,  eagerly  seeking  the  unpaid  aid  of  our  pupils  and  other  readers  on 
their  visits  home  and  on  trade  journeys.  At  all  the  stations  day-schools  are 
in  operation,  where  children  and  young  men  come  voluntarily  and  without 
reward,  and  diligently  learn  to  read  and  write. 

6.  Liberality. — Though  poor,  and  not  appreciating,  as  we  may,  the  duty  of 
sustaining  the  gospel,  they  have  given  to  the  support  of  the  Mission  work. 
At  Gaboon,  some  natives  provide  all  the  clothing  and  much  of  the  food  for 
their  children ;  and  all  the  time  churches  have  been  built  largely  by  native 
aid  and  contribution. 

7.  Literature. — Besides  the  two  grammars  and  several  reading  books, 
the  entire  New  Testament  in  Benga  and  Mpongwe,  with  parts  of  the  Old 
Testament,  have  been  printed.  A  collection  of  some  two  hundred  hymns, 
one  fourth  of  them  translations  by  Miss-  Nassau,  is  passing  through  the 
press  at  this  writing.  In  their  manuscript  form  many  of  them  have  already 
been  sung  by  the  musical  natives  as  songs  in  their  villages,  and  have  been 
carried  by  the  wandering  youth  back  to  the  mountains  where  our  own  feet 
have  not  trod. 

3.    WHAT    OF    THE    NIGHT? 

Under  the  attention  excited  by  Stanley's  story  of  Livingstone,  and  with 
the  interest  with  which  the  civilized  world  now  turns  to  Africa,  the  imme- 
diate future  is  full  of  hope.  That  interest,  on  the  Western  coast,  concen- 
trates on  our  own  field ;  British,  French,  and  German  exploring  parties  at 
this  present  time  investigating  that  region  with  reference  to  penetrating, 
and  thus  to  supplement  from  the  west,  Livingstone's  researches  from  the 
east. 

1.  Mackey  Memorial  Girti  School. — The  Evangasimba  girls'  school,  left 
vacant  in  October  1865,  was  abandoned  after  an  ineffectual  attempt  to  sustain 
it.  Now,  at  the  end  of  seven  years,  it  is  to  be  re-established  with  a  new 
building  (the  appropriate  designation  by  the  Board  of  a  legacy  of  $1,000, 
the  one-fourth  of  the  little  home-property  on  which  Mrs.  Mackey  was  sup- 
ported in  this  country  during  the  last  years  of  her  life)  and  three  ladies, 
Mrs.  Reutlinger,  Mrs.  Hendricks,  and  Miss  White,  have  been  appointed  to 
conduct  it. 

2.  Training  School. — A  school  is  authorised  by  the  Mission  and  located  at 
Baraka  for  the  especial  instruction  of  teachers  and  ministerial  candidates. 
For  years  there  has  been  a  standing  objection  by  those  who  were  urged  to  de- 


10 

vote  themselves  to  Mission  service,  and  by  the  ministerial  candidates,  a 
complaint,  that  each  missionary  was  so  busy  with  the  various  and  secular 
business  of  his  station  that  they  could  not  give  the  special  instruction  they 
needed.  And  when  attempt  was  made  to  remedy  this  difficulty,  it  was  found 
that  missionaries  at  three  or  four  different  places  were  spending  time  and  labor 
in  doing  for  a  small  class  of  two  at  each  of  those  places,  what  one  teacher 
could  better  do  for  the  entire  six  or  eight,  and  for  more  who  would  come  if 
they  were  gathered  at  one  place.  That  work  Mr.  Bushnell  is  trying  to  do  by 
the  proposed  Training  School.  But  it  has  not  yet  obtained  the  needed  in- 
structor. For  the  teacher  of  that  young  theological  school  we  ask  the  church 
in  America. 

3.  Sanitarium. — Investigations  are  being  made,  at  the  Kamaroons,  Mt.  Peak, 
240  miles  north  of  Gaboon,  and  at  another  point,  about  the  same  distance 
south,  to  find  an  altitude  above  the  line  of  fever  and  yet  readily  accessible  to  in- 
valids, where  a  Health  Retreat  may  be  built.  When  these  investigations  shall 
have  been  so  complete  that  the  way  is  open  for  locating  at  whichever  point 
may  be  proved  most  desirable,  we  shall  ask  for  a  House  from  the  church  in 
America. 

4.  Industrial  Education. —  Unlike  the  natives  of  India,  China,  and  other 
countries,  the  natives  of  Guinea  have  no  business,  or  interchange  of  arts. 
So  that  when  they  become  Christians  they  still  have  nothing  to  call  them  from 
their  natural  idleness.  And  in  indolence  they  readily  fall  into  evil.  But  they 
have  very  generally  a  taste  for  carpentering  and  black-smithing  (using  rude 
tools  of  their  own  make),  which  only  needs  encouragement  to  make  it  useful. 
Moreover,  among  the  many  works  the  missionary  has  to  do,  are  secularities 
which  occupy  time,  and  which  his  ignorance  ill  fit  him  to  perform.  Dr. 
Loomis  in  i860,  and  Messrs  Reutlinger  and  Menaul  in  186^,  sought  to  have 
mechanical  arts  introduced,  but  the  inability  of  any  one  missionary  to  devote 
himself  to  the  project,  with  other  causes,  prevented  success.  An  earnest 
Christian  layman,  a  carpenter  or  other  mechanic,  could  do  the  house-build- 
ing and  boat-mending  our  hands  now  have  to  do,  and  could  at  the  same  time 
assist  in  religious  work.  For  those  Christian  missionary  laymen,  in  default 
of,  or  in  addition  to  the  ministers,  we  ask  the  church  in  America. 

5.  Medical  Missionaries. — There  are  in  this  United  States,  at  this  present 
time,  at  least  six  families  (as  many  adult  members  as  are  now  in  our  field) 
who  are  in  good  health  and  diligently  working  here,  who  returned  from  Africa 
and  remained  solely  on  account  of  their  children ;  a  state  of  things  which 
would  not  exist  if  there  had  been  proper  medical  attendance.  Since  the  foun- 
dation of  the  Mission,  there  has  been  but  one  resident  physician,  Dr.  H.  A. 
Ford,  from  1850-1858,  and  in  all  those  hundreds  of  miles  of  coast  there  has 
been  no  practising  physician,  except  the  French  doctor  at  the  Gaboon  Naval 
Depot,  and  he  is  not  available  unless  you  go  to  him.  Missionaries  have  been 
constrained  to  be  their  own  doctors  by  taking,  just  before  going  out,  a  hasty 
medical  education  in  addition  to  their  theological,  or  by  attending,  on  their 


11 

furloughs  in  this  country,  irregular  courses  of  medical  lectures,  and  getting  a 
little  skill  by  sad  experience  in  Africa.  This  frightful  state  of  things  suffi- 
ciently accounts  for  some  on  our  list  of  deaths,  without  speaking  of  African 
fever  or  blaming  African  malaria.  A  true  Christian  physician  like  Dr. 
Ford  can  teach  books  as  well  as,  and  cure  diseases  better  than,  the  minister, 
leaving  to  the  latter  the  proper  care  of  the  churches.  Here,  in  sickness, 
the  husband  or  father  flies  on  car  or  horse  for  the  doctor,  distant  only  a  few 
squares  or  at  most  a  few  miles.  Our  Mission  sends  in  boats,  against  adverse 
winds ;  and  our  territory  covers  200  miles  in  length,  with  only  one  physician 
in  it.     For  those  Christian  medical  men  we  ask  the  church  in  America. 

6.  The  Interior. — The  sparse  population  on  the  coast  would  not  warrant,  in 
the  presence  of  the  calls  from  more  populous  countries,  even  the  few  mission- 
aries now  there,  much  less  permit  this  prayer  for  more,  if  the  work  begun 
there  were  to  end  there.  We  have  even  looked  to  the  populous  and  more 
healthy  (because  more  elevated)  interior,  but  never  have  had  the  extra  men 
who,  leaving  the  coast  stations  fully  manned  as  a  base,  could  go  forward  and 
investigate.  So  we  have  painfully  and  tantalisingly  been  hanging  only  on  the 
borders,  without  entering  our  wider  and  true  field.  Our  natural  line  of 
growth  is  toward  the  east  and  south.  No  one  now  in  the  field  can  leave  his 
post  to  pioneer  a  new  station.  Give  us  new  men  to  release  these  for  that 
eastward  step.     For  new  men  we  ask  the  church  in  America. 


32 


/ 
MISSIONS  IN  WESTERN  AFRICA. 


MISSIONS  IN  WESTERN  AFRICA. 


x  The  term  Western  Africa  is  given  to  that  portion  of  the  continent  that 
extends  from  the  Great  Desert  on  the  north,  to  a  region  considerably  south  of 
the  equator.  In  this  space  the  coast  having  stretched  out  far  to  the  westward, 
recedes  about  twenty-five  degrees  east,  and  then  proceeds  in  a  south-easterly 
direction.  From  Morocco  to  Senegal  the  coast  is  settled  by  Moorish  tribes — 
then  to  the  coast  of  Guinea  the  Jaloofs,  Mandingoes  and  Foulahs  are  the 
dominating  races.  In  Upper  and  Lower  Guinea  are  various  tribes,  among 
whom  the  principal  evangelistic  work  in  Western  Africa  is  carried  on.  The 
English  Churches  have  done  much  in  Sierra  Leone,  and  in  this  colony  alone 
are  over  12,000  communicants.  Then  comes  Liberia,  where  some  3,000  com- 
municants are  found,  almost  wholly  among  the  Americo-Liberians.  The 
Wesleyans  have  a  flourishing  mission  in  the  Gold  Coast  territory,  also  the 
Basle  Missionary  Society.  The  former,  with  the  Church  Missionary  Society, 
have  an  encouraging  field  in  the  Yoruba  country.  The  United  Presbyterians 
of  Scotland  have  been  for  many  years  in  Calabar,  and  this  brings  us  in  the 
survey  to  our  own  mission  in  Corisco  and  Gaboon.  In  this  territory,  begin- 
ning with  the  French  Settlement  in  Senegal,  and  running  down  to  the  Gaboon 
Mission,  there  are  about  90  laborers,  over  24,000  church  members,  and  12,500 
pupils  in  the  schools.  These  may  be  designated  as  Coast  Missions.  The 
interior  has  not  been  entered,  but  the  time  is  approaching  when  the  work 
must  be  carried  into  the  heart  of  Africa,  and  away  from  the  fearful  evils  that 
prevail  in  the  region  now  occupied.  The  Scriptures  in  whole  or  in  part  have 
been  issued  in  Mandingo,  Timmane,  Bullom,  Mandi,  Fanti,  Yoruba,  Dualla, 
Efic,  M'pongwe,  Grebo,  and  Benga. 

It  is  impossible  to  tell  the  exact  population  found  in  this  region.  Almost 
every  estimate  is  guesswork.  The  numbers  on  the  lowest  basis  are  far 
beyond  the  Church's  ability  to  reach  with  the  Gospel.  Their  condition  is 
deplorable.  Their  land  is  a  land  of  darkness  and  of  death.  If  the  low  moral 
state  of  the  people  is  to  be  taken  into  account,  as  influencing  the  Church's 
action,  then  no  portion  of  the  globe  needs  the  missionary  and  the  word  of 
life  more  than  Western  Africa.  Their  state  may  repel  rather  than  attract  the  la- 
borer, but  it  does  not  close  the  compassionate  heart  of  Jesus  to  their  necessi- 
ties, or  turn  away  His  eye  from  their  ruined  condition.  These  are  before  Him 
and  He  wishes  that  they  should  stand  open  to  the  vision  of  all  His  people. 

The  difficulties  that  environ  the  missionary  in  his  efforts  to  reach  the  peo- 
ple with  the  truth  are  many,  and  these  should  be  apparent  to  those  who  send 


4  Missions  in    Western  Africa, 

as  well  as   to   those  who   are   sent.      Nowhere   in  the  mission  field  do  they 
assume  greater  proportions.     The  first  of  these  is 

THE    SLAVE    TRADE. 

This  for  hundreds  of  years  has  been  the  bane  of  this  portion  of  Africa. 
Beginning  among  Christian  nations  with  the  Portuguese,  who  discovered  the 
western  coast,  it  has  prevailed  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  to  the  present  time. 
There  is  no  necessity  to  recount  its  horrors,  or  tell  of  its  fearful,  devastating 
effects.  Men  arose  who  "  claimed  a  right  over  the  destinies  of  a  continent, 
and  who  proceeded  to  the  daring  impiety  of  extracting  a  revenue  from  the 
death  and  agonies  of  annually  slaughtered  thousands  of  its  inhabitants."  It 
is  impossible  to  tell  the  number  who  were  regularly  captured  and  sold.  Ac- 
cording to  the  calculations  of  Sir  Fowell  Buxton,  in  1840,  he  declared  that 
half  a  million  were  dragged  away  that  year  from  the  shores  of  Africa.  The 
Governor  of  Cape  Coast  Castle  says :  "  In  the  year  1834,  I  have  every  reason 
to  believe  that  the  number  of  slaves  carried  off  from  the  Bights  of  Benin  and 
Biafra,  amounted  to  140,000."  This  horrid  traffic  has  been  almost  stopped, 
but  its  evil  effects  are  apparent  throughout  the  whole  of  this  region,  and  these 
were  produced  by  men  who  bore  the  Christian  name,  but  who  manifested  no 
higher  traits  of  character  than  what  were  seen  by  those  who  were  employed 
to  capture  and  to  enslave.     With  this  were 

OTHER    EVILS. 

To  entrap  the  unwary,  to  pander  to  avarice,  to  satisfy  greed,  to  gratify  pas- 
sion, to  pamper  selfishness,  and  to  stifle  the  moral  sense,  ornaments,  luxuries, 
and  intoxicating  drinks  were  introduced  by  those  engaged  in  the  traffic. 
These  enkindled  strifes,  engendered  wars,  and  brought  woe  into  many  a  home. 
The  sad  effects  of  rum  on  the  native  population  are  indescribable.  The 
favorite  intoxicant  was  formerly  palm  wine,  but  this  is  too  mild  and  gentle  for 
those  whe  can  procure  the  fire-water  of  the  white  man.  This  vice  has  inter- 
fered greatly  with  the  spread  of  the  Gospel,  while  trade  has  drawn  away  tne 
young  men  from  all  thoughts  of  mission  employ  into  business  pursuits  con- 
nected with  the  trading  posts  on  the  coast.  Unless  divine  grace  restrains, 
education  prepares  the  youth  for  such  places  where  temptations  abound,  or 
where  they  are  liable  to  be  ensnared. 

FETISHISM. 

There  is  no  grand,  elaborate  system  of  pagan  worship  found  in  Africa,  such 
as  is  encountered  in  portions  of  Asia.  Superstition,  dark  and  bloody,  however, 
prevails,  which  binds  almost  every  one  and  brings  its  votaries  under  the  bond- 
age of  fear.  If  he  has  no  dread  of  a  holy  God,  the  African  has  much  fear  of 
the  devil ;  if  he  has  no  conception  of  pure  spiritual  influences,  he  has  a 
vivid  idea  of  powerful  evil  spirits  who  are  ready  to  injure  and  destroy  ;  if  he 
has  no  understanding  of  what  true  worship  is,  he  has  a  high  regard  for  endless 
rites  and  ceremonies ;  if  he  has  no  knowledge  of  a  Saviour,  he  has  of  a  de- 


Missions  in    Western  Africa.  5 

stroyer,  who  under  various  forms  can  take  life,  and  who  has  omnipotent  power 
over  the  souls  and  bodies  of  men.  If  he  is  not  acquainted  with  a  Supreme 
Being,  he  is  with  gods  many  and  lords  many,  as  he  is  ready  to  reverence 
idols,  or  pay  homage  to  stones,  mountains,  rivers,  beasts,  birds,  and  reptiles. 
To  protect  himself  against  danger  or  witchcraft,  he  has  his  amulets  or  charms 
made  of  anything  that  is  consecrated  by  the  priest,  and  that  has  all  power  to 
defend  him  from  harm.  Thus  situated,  he  knows  nothing  of  divine  love, 
heavenly  pity,  or  all-moving  compassion,  but  much  of  sorrow,  darkness,  suf 
fering,  and  fear ;  but  these  do  not  fit  him  to  respond  to  heavenly  truth,  or  in 
his  degradation  and  sensuality  to  covet  a  home  of  unspotted  holiness  or  a  life 
akin  to  the  divine. 

POLYGAMY. 

This  is  practiced  both  by  Mohammedans  and  pagans.  Marriage  as  under- 
stood in  a  Christian  sense  is  unknown.  A  man's  position  is  recognized  by 
the  number  of  wives  he  has  purchased.  They  are  his  slaves,  to  work  for  him 
and  to  wait  upon  him.  The  effects  of  this  system  are  pernicious,  and  the 
thing  itself  is  at  war  with  the  teachings  of  Christ.  But  as  social  standing  is 
measured  by  it,  and  a  man's  importance  is  regulated  by  the  number  of  his 
wives,  it  is  evident  that  this  must  stand  as  a  barrier  to  the  reception  of  divine 
truth,  and  especially  when  it  revolutionizes  the  whole  ideas  that  prevail  as  to 
man's  importance  and  woman's  inferiority  and  duties. 

TRIBAL    RELATIONS. 

The  selfishness  and  jealousy  of  the  different  tribes  form  a  barrier  to  the 
extension  of  the  truth.  These  tribes  are  not  only  ready  to  oppress  each 
other,  but  to  stand  in  the  way  of  the  social  and  moral  elevation  of  any. 
Supposing  that  the  trader  will  follow  the  missionary,  or  that  the  interior  tribes 
will  in  some  way  derive  an  advantage  over  them  if  the  missionary  is  allowed 
to  enter,  they  are  always  ready  to  bar  his  entrance  into  regions  beyond,  or 
if  he  passes  into  them,  to  throw  as  many  obstacles  in  his  way  as  possible. 
This  makes  approach  to  the  interior  very  difficult,  and  keeps  the  people 
under  the  power  of  avarice  and  selfishness. 

CLIMATE. 

This  portion  of  the  continent  has  been  called  "  the  land  of  death,"  and 
"the  white  man's  grave,"  from  the  number  who  have  died  along  its  coast. 
Says  an  English  writer :  "Like  all  tropical  lowlands,  the  sea-coasts  are  in- 
jurious to  European  constitutions,  and  are  rendered  much  more  so  by  the 
neglect  of  every  reasonable  precaution  of  a  sanitary  nature.  All  our  settle- 
ments seem  as  if  specially  located  as  nurseries  for  fever,  dysentery,  and  all  other 
tropical  diseases.  At  Bathurst,  on  the  Gambia,  a  swamp  which  would  pay 
for  drainage  is  a  source  of  disease.  At  Cape  Coast,  the  natives  are  allowed 
to  bury  their  dead  in  their  houses  (thus  tainting  the  water  which  percolates 
through  the  soil),  and  commit  every  imaginable  nuisance  with  impunity.     The 


6  Missions  in    Western  Africa. 

sanitary  condition  of  Sierra  Leone  is  equally  disgraceful."  The  utter  want 
of  industry  and  intelligence  on  the. part  of  the  natives  keeps  things  as  they 
are.  They  are  too  few  to  subdue  the  earth,  and  too  indifferent  to  undertake 
sanitary  measures  for  the  removal  of  malarious  influences.  In  the  first  twelve 
years  of  the  Church  Missionary  Society's  operations  in  Sierra  Leone,  thirty 
Europeans  died,  and  the  Basle  Missionary  Society  lost  in  one  year  ten  of  its 
laborers.  In  later  years  there  has  been  no  such  mortality.  The  missionaries 
are  better  acquainted  with  the  laws  of  health,  and  by  observing  these,  they 
are  enabled  by  occasional  returns  home  to  recruit,  to  live  longer,  and  do  more 
effective  work. 

Much  has  been  said  about  lives  thrown  away  on  this  Western  Coast — of 
useless  sacrifices  of  men  and  means.  Much  has  been  written  against  the 
white  man  consecrating  himself  to  such  a  service  in  such  &  place.  But 
little  is  said  by  this  class  of  the  sums  expended  and  the  lives  that  have  been 
lost  in  the  attempt  to  discover  the  sources  of  the  Niger,  or  that  have  been 
laid  upon  the  altar  to  trade  and  commerce.  Traders  are  found  all  along  this 
coast.  Commerce  has  its  agents  where  the  mission  enterprise  has  none. 
When  the  trader  dies,  hundreds  stand  ready  in  Britain  to  take  his  place. 
When  the  missionary  lays  down  his  life  or  has  to  retire  from  the  field,  few, 
very  few,  are  found  to  be  baptized  for  the  dead  or  to  take  the  vacant  place. 
Appeals  the  most  urgent  have  been  made  for  men  to  undertake  the  work,  but 
not  a  single  response  has  come  from  any  institution  in  our  land,  and  unless 
help  comes,  the  missions  will  be  seriously  crippled  and  injured. 

OUR    MISSIONS. 

These  are  two,  Gaboon  and  Corisco  and  Liberia.  The  former  is  composed 
of  two  missions,  Gaboon  formerly  under  the  care  of  the  American  Board, 
xnd  received  at  the  time  of  the  re-union  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Presby- 
terian Church;  the  other,  Corisco,  established  by  the  Board  in  1849.  These 
were  contiguous  to  each  other,  and  when  the  former  was  transferred,  the  two 
were  united  under  the  present  name.  Work  began  at  Gaboon  by  the  removal 
of  the  laborers  from  Cape  Palmas  in  1842.  These  were  Rev.  Messrs.  J. 
Leighton  Wilson,  William  Walker,  and  Benjamin  Griswold,  with  Mrs.  J.  L. 
Wilson  and  Mrs.  Mary  H.  Wilson.  These  laborers,  welcomed  by  the  people 
and  the  rulers,  were  favorably  impressed  with  the  degree  of  civilization  and 
thrift  they  found.  The  station  selected  was  named  Baraka,  as  it  was  estab- 
lished upon  the  ruins  of  an  old  slave  barracoon  where  for  generations  slaves 
had  been  bought  and  sold.  "  It  is  beautifully  situated,"  writes  Rev.  A.  Bush- 
nell,  "  on  an  eminence  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  north  side  of  the  river 
Gaboon,  twelve  miles  from  its  mouth,  overlooking  the  native  towns  on  the 
beach,  and  presenting  a  magnificent  view  of  river  and  ocean  scenery." 

Three  languages  were  spoken  in  the  territory  occupied.  The  Messongwe, 
"  remarkable  for  its  beauty,  flexibility,  and  philosophical  structure,  was  early 
reduced  to  writing  and  has  been   the   principal   medium  of  communication 


Missions  in    Western  Africa.  y 

with  the  people."  The  Bakele  language  was  also  reduced  to  writing,  but  has 
not  been  required  to  any  great  extent,  as  the  number  speaking  it  is  limited. 
An  attempt  was  also  made  to  reduce  the  Pangwe  to  a  written  form.  This 
tribe  coming  from  the  interior  is  more  and  more  connected  with  the  Messong- 
wes  by  marriage  and  commercial  relations,  so  that  this  language  may  occupy 
an  important  place  in  the  future. 

In  1844,  control  of  this  region  passed  from  the  hands  of  four  chiefs  to  that 
of  the  French.  This  was  obtained  by  means  far  from  creditable  to  the 
French  nation.  The  sovereignty  thus  ceded  to  Louis  Philippe,  has  been  held 
ever  since,  and  the  river  has  become  an  important  naval  station.  A  large 
French  Jesuit  mission  under  government  patronage  was  soon  established,  and 
remains  in  full  operation  about  three  miles  from  Baraka.  With  this  insidious 
agency,  as  well  as  with  the  adverse  foreign  influences  that  have  been  intro- 
duced in  later  years,  the  mission  has  had  to  contend. 

On  January  1,  1844,  Rev.  A.  Bushnell  and  Rev.  John  M.  Campbell  sailed 
for  this  mission.  Whilst  waiting  for  an  opportunity  to  proceed  from  Cape 
Palmas  to  Gaboon,  where  they  landed  March  9,  Mr.  Campbell  was  stricken 
down  with  fever,  and  died  April  19.  Mr.  Bushnell,  recovering  from  a  similar 
attack,  was  enabled  to  proceed  to  Gaboon.  In  July,  1843,  a  church  was 
organized,  consisting  of  fifteen  members,  of  whom  seven  were  natives,  most 
of  them  from  Cape  Palmas.  A  second  station  was  commenced  at  Ozyunga, 
and  was  occupied  by  Mr.  Bushnell.  So  sudden  and  great  are  the  changes 
among  the  laborers  on  this  coast,  that  in  1847,  only  Mr.  Walker  and  his  wife 
were  on  the  ground.  The  others  were  chiefly  absent  on  account  of  health. 
At  that  time  only  two  natives  who  had  given  satisfactory  evidence  of  conver- 
sion had  been  received  into  the  church.  The  schools  that  had  been  organized 
were  reduced  in  number,  and  an  appeal  was  made  by  the  Board  for  new 
laborers,  on  the  ground  of  the  hopefulness  of  the  field,  and  that  altogether 
too  little  had  been  attempted  for  Western  Africa.  The  Rev.  I.  M.  Preston 
and  Rev.  William  T.  Wheeler  were  sent  out  in  1848  ;  the  latter  after  a  few 
months'  trial  was  obliged  to  return  home.  Six  natives  were  baptized  in  1849. 
This  arrested  attention,  and  aroused  opposition  among  the  enemies  of  the 
Cross.  One  young  man  was  confined  in  irons,  and  others  were  threatened 
with  violence  in  case  they  rejected  heathenish  practices.  The  second  station 
already  mentioned  was  given  up,  and  a  new  one  at  Olandebenk,  about  twenty- 
five  miles  above  Baraka,  was  established.  The  mission  was  reinforced  by 
Rev.  Jacob  Best,  and  Henry  A.  Ford,  M.D.  Among  the  evils  to  be  encoun- 
tered, is  the  mention  in  1850  of  the  "  late  free  introduction  of  American  rum, 
which  has  exerted  a  most  pernicious  influence  along  the  coast."  The  follow- 
ing striking  appeal  was  made  to  Rev.  A.  Bushnell  for  a  missionary.  He 
says  :  "While  on  a  visit  to  a  town  up  the  Gaboon  River,  a  few  days  since,  after 
conversing  some  time  with  the  old  head-man,  he  expressed  a  desire  to  have  a 
missionary  come  and  reside  in  his  town,  and  promised  to  build  him  a  house, 
and  give  him  plaintains  to  eat,  and  plenty  of  children  to  instruct.     I  told  him 


8  Missions  in    Western  Africa. 

we  were  only  a  few  missionaries,  and  no  one  could  be  spared  to  come  to  his 
town.  'But,'  said  he,  'why  don't  you  make  a  book  and  send  to  America 
for  more  missionaries  ;  I  think  plenty  live  there.'  I  told  him,  '  Yes,  there  are 
many  there,  and  we  have  often  invited  them  to  come  and  help  us ;  but  their 
country  is  a  cold  country,  and  this  is  a  hot  country.  If  they  come,  perhaps 
they  will  be  sick,  and  some  might  die.'  The  old  chief  hesitated  a  little,  and 
then  replied  :  '  Frenchman's  country  be  cold  country  too  !  Plenty  French- 
men come  here.  Why  don't  they  fear?  Englishman's  country  be  cold  coun- 
try. And  yet  many  Englishmen  come  here  to  make  trade.  They  no  fear  to 
be  sick  and  die.  Why  do  missionaries  fear  to  come  ?  '  "  This  question  has 
never  been  satisfactorily  answered. 

It  has  always  been  difficult  to  keep  up  a  good  working  corps  of  laborers  on 
this  coast.  Experience  has  shown  that  if  the  missionary  remains  at  his  post  a 
few  years,  the  relaxing  and  malarious  influences  of  the  climate  are  such  that 
he  must  leave  for  a  season  to  recruit  in  a  colder  and  healthier  climate.  By 
doing  this,  life  has  been  prolonged.  Rev.  Dr.  Wilson  returned  home  in  1852, 
after  eighteen  years'  service,  and  has  been  since  in  another  relation  with  the 
missionary  cause.  In  1853,  Rev.  Messrs.  Pierce  and  Herrick  sailed  for 
Gaboon,  and  in  1854,  Rev.  H.  M.  Adams,  who  died  in  1856,  and  Mr.  Her- 
rick in  1857.  In  1857,  Rev.  A.  D.  Jack  and  Miss  Jane  A.  Van  Allen  sailed 
for  Gaboon.  Some  others  labored  in  this  mission  for  a  while,  but  for  ten 
years  no  male  missionary  was  sent  out.  Sometimes  one  only  of  these  was  in 
active  service,  and  at  other  times  two.  For  years  Messrs.  Walker,  Bushnell, 
and  Preston  were  the  only  representatives  of  the  Church  in  the  field.  The 
name  of  Mrs.  Preston  disappears  from  the  list,  and  at  the  time  of  the  re- 
union in  1870,  Mr.  Walker  and  his  wife  were  alone  at  their  station,  and  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  Bushnell,  the  other  laborers,  were  in  the  United  States.  The  church 
had  grown  in  numbers,  but  the  allurements  of  trade,  and  the  numerous  en- 
ticements to  evil  had  been  injurious  to  its  solid  growth,  so  that  at  one  time  in 
1868,  seventeen  members  were  publicly  cut  off  as  dead  branches.  When 
the  mission  was  transferred,  the  American  Board  said  :  "  It  is  to  be  regretted, 
that  after  so  many  years  of  faithful  labor  no  more  has  been  accomplished  in 
this  field.  But  it  must  be  remembered,  that  this  mission  has  encountered 
from  the  first,  a  peculiar  obstacle  in  addition  to  that  of  heathenism,  for  which 
Christian  countries  are  responsible.  But  our  own  and  the  P^nglish  mission- 
aries distinctly  charge  upon  the  trade  in  rum,  so  long  and  so  freely  carried  on 
from  this  country  and  Great  Britain,  their  want  of  greater  success.  And  it 
must  be  said  to  the  everlasting  reproach  of  these  countries,  that  they  have  ex- 
ported to  this  part  of  Africa  more  heathenism  than  Christianity,  and  done 
more  to  destroy  the  natives  than  to  save  them." 

Since  the  re-union  a  gracious  revival  has  taken  place  in  the  church ;  and 
the  outstation,  Nengenenge,  has  been  occupied  by  a  licentiate  preacher.  The 
membership  of  the  church  is  93.  In  the  schools  are  50  boys  and  51  girls, 
of  whom   30  boys  and  40  girls  are  boarding  scholars.     The  present  force  is 


Missions  in    Western  Africa,  9 

greatly  reduced.     Mr.   and  Mrs.  Bushnell  and  Miss  Dewsnap  are  alone  at 
Gaboon.     Mr.  and  Mrs.  Reading  and  Miss  Jones  are  in  the  United  States. 

CORISCO. 

This  name,  so  well  known  in  connection  with  Africa,  is  a  small  island  some 
twenty  miles  from  the  mainland,  and  fifty-five  miles  north  of  the  Equator.  In 
1849,  Rev.  James  L.  Mackey,  Rev.  George  W.  Simpson,  and  their  wives,  sailed 
for  their  new  field,  and  arrived  at  Gaboon  in  January,  1850.  The  first  thing 
which  required  their  attention  was  the  choice  of  a  station.  After  visiting  various 
places  along  the  coast,  they  selected  Corisco,  in  the  hope  that  it  would  be  more 
healthy  than  the  mainland,  but  future  experience  has  not  fully  justified  this 
early  belief.  These  laborers  passed  safely  through  the  acclimating  fever,  but 
on  the  nth  of  March  Mrs.  Mackey  was  removed  by  death.  Her  disease  was 
not,  however,  peculiar  to  the  climate.  The  following  year  a  heavier  calamity 
befell  the  mission.  Whilst  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Simpson  were  at  sea  the  vessel  was 
struck  by  a  typhoon,  and  all  on  board  perished,  with  the  exception  of  a  native 
sailor.  The  removal  of  these  devoted  laborers  was  greatly  felt,  and  was  a 
heavy  blow  to  the  work.  Mr.  Mackey,  however,  planned  for  enlarged  opera- 
tions, and  soon  opened  a  second  station,  not  far  from  the  first,  called  Evan- 
gasimba,  that  he  might  be  nearer  the  native  population.  A  school  was  started, 
and  soon  forty-eight  boys  were  in  regular  attendance.  This  was  followed  by  a 
boarding-school.  In  185 1  the  mission  was  reinforced  by  Miss  I.  Sweeney,  who 
was  afterward  married  to  Mr.  Mackey.  The  next  year  the  Rev.  George 
McQueen  arrived,  and  in  1853  the  Rev.  Messrs.  Edwin  T.  Williams  and  Wil. 
Ham  Clemens  and  their  wives,  joined  the  mission,  and  in  1854,  Miss  G.  M. 
Bliss,  who  was  afterward  married  to  Mr.  McQueen.  On  the  3d  of  April,  1854, 
a  disastrous  fire  occurred  on  the  island,  which  consumed  all  the  mission  build- 
ings. This  called  out  much  sympathy,  both  in  Corisco  and  among  the  churches 
at  home.  Rev.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  DeHeer,  and  Miss  Kaufman,  accompanied  the 
Mackeys,  who  had  been  on  a  visit  to  the  United  States,  and  arrived  in  1855. 
This  year  two  young  men  applied  for  baptism.  The  first  attention  of  the 
laborers  was  turned  to  the  acquisition  of  the  Benga  language.  It  was  unwrit- 
ten. The  people  had  no  books.  No  helps  such  as  grammars  and  dictionaries 
were  to  be  had,  and  even  no  interpreter  who  had  any  knowledge  of  the  struc- 
ture of  the  language.  In  1855  the  missionaries  were  able  to  say  :  "  We  have 
succeeded  in  writing  the  language  of  the  people,  and  have  now,  besides  a 
grammar,  one  book  printed,  which  contains  much  Scripture  truth."  At  this 
time  there  were  three  places  of  preaching  where  the  people  met  regularly  to 
hear  the  Word  of  God.  Soon  after  this  three  stations  were  established — the 
original  one,  Evangasimba,  on  the  western  side,  Ugobi  on  the  southern  end  of 
the  island,  and  Alongo  on  the  northern  end.  The  second  station  named  was 
two  miles  from  Evangasimba,  and  the  third  was  three  miles.  A  church  was 
organized  in  October,  1856,  when  two  native  converts  were  received.  Several 
excursions  had  been  made  among  the  tribes  on  the  mainland,  who  welcomed 


io  Missions  in    Western  Africa, 

the  missionary  among  them.  One  of  these  tours  was  150  miles  into  the  inte- 
rior. In  1857  the  first  death  occurred  in  the  field,  among  the  missionaries, 
since  the  establishment  of  the  mission.  Mrs.  DeHeer  died  in  April  from  a 
violent  attack  of  malignant  fever.  Rev.  Thomas  S.  Ogden  and  wife  joined 
the  mission  in  1858,  and  were  followed  by  Miss  M.  M.  Jackson,  who  after- 
ward married  Rev.  W.  H.  Clark. 

Corisco  was  under  Spanish  rule  when  occupied  by  our  laborers.  At  one 
time  the  authorities  threatened  to  interfere  with  the  work,  and  went  so  far  as 
to  issue  a  proclamation.  They  were  not  disturbed,  and  for  many  years  they 
have  felt  entirely  secure  under  Spanish  protection.  Dr.  C.  L.  Loomis  arrived 
in  Corisco  in  1859  to  fill  the  vacancy  made  by  the  death  of  Mr.  McQueen. 
The  report  of  this  year  speaks  of  an  increased  interest  among  the  people  on 
the  subject  of  religion.  It  says  :  "  In  the  catechumen  class  there  are  now 
about  fifty  who  are  candidates  for  baptism.  Among  these  are  several  men 
with  their  wives.  The  converts  are,  however,  chiefly  among  the  young,  and 
of  such  as  have  been  educated  at  our  different  stations."  Of  these,  thirty- 
eight  were  afterward  received  on  profession  of  their  faith.  A  presbytery  was 
organized,  and  three  young  men  were  taken  under  its  care  as  candidates  for 
the  ministry,  and  one  of  them  afterward  licensed  and  ordained.  The  influence 
of  the  mission  upon  the  people  is  mentioned  by  Rev.  J.  L.  Mackey,  in  t86i, 
as  follows  :  "  Since  the  commencement  of  our  missionary  work  among  the 
Bengas,  there  has  been  an  extraordinary  advance  in  civilization.  They  build 
better  houses  ;  many  of  them  are  respectably  clothed  ;  on  Sabbath  we  have 
respectably-dressed  congregations  at  three  separate  places  of  worship.  Though 
there  is  still  a  large  majority  of  the  inhabitants  of  Corisco  who  cling  to  their 
heathenish  customs,  yet  all  have  been  elevated,  and,  in  some  degree,  civilized, 
through  the  influence  of  the  mission."  In  i860  Miss  Mary  C.  Latta  joined 
the  mission,  and  also  Rev.  Robert  H.  Nassau  in  the  following  year.  They 
were  subsequently  married. 

With  the  exception  of  occasional  touring  on  the  mainland,  evangelistic  labor 
had  been  confined  to  Corisco,  which  contained  a  population  of  three  or  four 
thousand.  The  missionaries  had  been  anxious  for  some  time  to  begin  opera- 
tions on  the  mainland.  Some  of  their  number  made  a  voyage  to  Benita, 
fifty-four  miles  to  the  north,  which  resulted  in  its  occupancy  in  the  early  part 
of  1865  by  Rev.  George  Paul,  who  had  reached  Corisco  in  1863.  We  can  not 
even  sketch  his  brief,  but  remarkable  career,  as  he  was  from  the  first  cheered 
by  hearing  many  asking  what  they  should  do  to  be  saved.  In  the  midst  of  an 
awakening  of  great  interest  he  was  suddenly  cut  down,  leaving  behind  him  the 
fragrance  of  thorough  consecration  to  his  work. 

Besides  the  names  already  mentioned,  the  following  have  labored  in  connec- 
tion with  the  mission  :  Rev.  S.  Reutlinger  and  his  wife  arrived,  1S66  ;  Rev. 
John  Menaul  and  wife,  and  Miss  I.  A.  Nassau,  in  1868  ;  Rev.  J.  C.  DeB. 
Kops  and  his  wife,  Rev.  S.  H.  Murphy  and  his  wife,  Rev.  S.  L.  Gillespie,  Miss 
Sarah  J.  Boughton,  1871  ;  and  in  1872,  Miss  Lydia  Jones,  Miss  Sarah  E.  Hen- 


Missions  hi    Western  Africa.  1 1 

dricks,  Miss  Martha  B.  White,  Rev.  W.  Schorsch,  G.  W.  Taylor,  M.D.;  and 
Miss  Lush,  in  1873  J  and  m  1875,  Mr.  Joseph  H.  Reading  and  his  wife,  and 
Miss  S.  Dewsnap.  It  is  a  painful  thought  that,  from  one  cause  or  another,  so 
many  of  those  who  have  been  sent  out  to  this  mission  within  the  last  few 
years  have  returned.  This  is  discouraging.  Tried  men  and  women  are 
greatly  needed  who  can  stand  the  climate,  and  are  ready  to  stand  in  their  lot. 
Those  now  on  the  ground  are  entitled  to  the  name  of  veterans.  The  three 
ministers  have  been  there  respectively,  nineteen,  twenty-two,  and  thirty-three 
years,  and  two  of  them  greatly  need  a  change  ;  but  if  they  return,  who  is  to 
take  their  places  ? 

The  objective  point  of  the  mission  has  been  the  interior.  The  laborers 
have  looked  to  the  populous  and  more  healthy  regions  that  are  inland,  and 
away  from  certain  deleterious  influences  that  abound  on  the  coast.  Dr.  Nas- 
sau has,  therefore,  made  the  attempt,  and  after  considerable  reconnoitering 
and  prospecting,  has  established  a  station  at  Kangwe,  on  the  Ogowe  river,  120 
miles  from  the  coast,  and  has  placed  a  native  assistant  at  a  substation  150 
miles  from  "the  coast.  The  work  is  among  the  Galwas,  who  seem  anxious  to 
know  about  the  truth.  Some  difficulties  have  been  experienced  by  an  attack 
of  a  tribe  living  nearer  the  coast. 

On  the  island,  Mr.  DeHeer  and  wife  and  Mrs.  Louise  Reutlinger  are  at 
work.  The  church  at  Alongo  has  a  membership  of  118,  of  whom  29  were 
added  during  the  year.  There  were  23  boys  in  school  under  the  care  of  Mr. 
and  Mrs.  DeHeer,  and  23  girls  under  Mrs.  Reutlinger's  instruction.  To  the 
church  at  Benita  28  were  added  during  the  year,  making  a  total  of  103  on  the 
communion  roll.  This  church  has  been  under  the  care  of  Rev.  Ibia  J'Ikenje, 
a  native  minister.  At  Benita,  Miss  Nassau  is  toiling  on,  hoping  for  aid, 
preaching  to  many  at  home  a  lesson  of  self-sacrificing  devotion. 

The  following  is  a  summary  of  missionary  operations  :  Three  missionaries, 
one  native  minister,  one  licentiate,  one  layman,  who  has  charge  of  the  sloop 
Hudson,  five  ladies,  of  whom  two  are  married,  eighteen  native  assistants,  314 
communicants,  and  217  scholars  in  the  schools. 

LIBERIA. 

Liberia  extends  along  the  western  coast  from  lat.  70,  25/  N.  and  long.  120, 
34/  W.,  down  to  40,  44'  N.  and  long.  6°,  37/  VV.  The  length  of  its  sea-coast 
is  about  520  miles.  It  was  first  settled  by  free  blacks,  January  7,  182 1,  who 
sailed  from  New  York  in  1820,  89  in  number.  After  some  disappointments 
and  difficulties  they  were  able  to  land.  Others  followed  from  time  to  time, 
until  the  number  who  have  gone  out  as  colonists  with  the  re-captured  slaves 
has  been  over  20,000.  The  small  territory  purchased  at  first  has  been  greatly 
enlarged,  until  it  embraces  the  portion  already  described.  The  first  mission- 
ary to  this  region  was  Lot  Cary,  who  had  been  a  slave,  and  had  purchased  him- 
self and  family.  He  went  out  under  Baptist  auspices  in  1821,  and  labored  till 
his  death  in    1828.     In  1825,  Mr.  Ashmun,  then  Governor  of  the  Colony,  is- 


12  Missions  in    Western  Africa. 

sued  an  earnest  appeal  for  missionaries  not  only  for  the  natives,  but  as  neces- 
sary to  keep  the  colonists  from  lapsing  into  barbarism.  In  answer  to  this  ap- 
peal several  Swiss  missionaries  from  the  Basle  Society  went  out.  From  one 
cause  or  another  the  mission  dwindled,  and  the  last  of  the  number  left  for 
Sierra  Leone.  Whilst  it  continued,  this  mission  exerted  a  beneficial  influence 
on  the  people. 

The  population  of  this  Republic  is  made  up  of  two  distinct  classes — the 
Aborigines,  or  native  Africans,  composed  of  different  tribes,  and  found  on  the 
territory  purchased  for  the  colonists.  The  number  is  estimated  as  high  as 
300,000.  These  are  heathen,  though  scattered  among  them  is  a  number  of 
Mohammedans.  The  second  class  is  composed  of  some  liberated  slaves,  and 
mainly  of  those  who  had  been  slaves  in  the  Southern  States,  with  a  portion  of 
free  colored  people  living  at  the  north.  Power,  political  and  religious,  was  put 
into  the  hands  of  this  second  class,  and  in  order  to  dissociate  civil  affairs  and 
political  administration  of  the  government  from  foreign  interference  and  influ- 
ence, no  white  man  can  hold  office  in  the  country.  It  is  a  government  wholly 
of  blacks,  and  the  experiment  is  going  on — whether  a  people  thus  situated 
are  capable  of  self-government,  and  can  rise  to  the  character  and  dignity  of  a 
nation.  Much  may  be  said  in  their  behalf.  Few  of  them  had  any  experience  in 
national  affairs  or  political  life.  The  many  had  been  reared  in  servitude  and 
in  a  state  of  dependence.  As  a  growing  community  by  the  steady  arrival  of 
colonists,  they  were  poor  and  ignorant.  Their  climate  was  unhealthy,  they 
were  thrown,  a  little  band,  among  an  ignorant  and  depraved  population  wholly 
pa^an.  Class  distinctions  arose.  The  Americo-Liberians  assumed  superior- 
ity, and  in  one  way  or  another  tyrannized  over  the  natives  and  antagonisms  were 
produced.  No  effort  to  raise  them  from  social  and  moral  degradation  has  been 
put  forth,  and  as  a  consequence  their  influence  upon  the  rising  generation  has 
been  bad.  Nearly  all  evangelistic  work  had  to  be  done  for  the  colonists,  in 
the  hope  that  they  would  make  aggressive  movements  upon  the  heathenism 
around  them.  This  has  not  been  the  case,  and  the  churches  are  less  able  to 
stand  alone  than  they  were  fifteen  or  twenty  years  ago.  Education  is  sadly 
neglected.  There  is  not  a  common  school  in  the  Republic,  and  the  college 
is  but  a  high-school  except  in  name. 

The  mission  to  Liberia  was  commenced  when  Rev.  John  B.  Finney  arrived 
at  Monrovia,  in  February,  1833.  His  first  effort  was  to  know  the  state  of 
things  in  the  country,  the  condition  of  the  people,  and  the  needs  of  the  mis- 
sion. Obtaining  this  information,  he  returned  home  to  confer  with  the  com- 
mittee and  to  urge  upon  the  Church  the  sending  of  more  men  to  Africa.  The 
accounts  he  gave  of  the  great  debasement  of  the  people  and  their  low  condi- 
tion, morally  and  intellectually,  prompted  the  Board  to  appoint  Rev.  Messrs. 
Laird  and  Cloud,  with  Mr.  James  Temple,  a  young  colored  man,  who  sailed 
in  company  with  Mr.  Finney,  and  who  arrived  in  Liberia  on  the  last  day  of 
the  year  1833.  Within  a  few  months  after  their  arrival,  Messrs.  Cloud,  Laird 
and  Mrs.  Laird  were  in  their  graves.     Mr.  Temple  came  back  to  the  United 


Missions  in   Western  Africa.  13 

States,  and  Mr.  Pinney  was  left  alone.  In  September,  1834,  he  was  joined  by 
Mr.  J.  F.  C.  Finley,  and  the  two  remained  till  the  following  year,  when  ex- 
hausted by  disease  and  no  longer  able  to  prosecute  their  labors,  they  embarked 
for  the  United  States,  and  this  terminated  the  first  attempt  to  reach  the  natives 
of  Africa  with  the  Gospel.  The  object  of  this  mission  was  for  the  Aborigines, 
and  only  incidentally  for  the  colonists. 

The  decision  of  the  Board  in  relation  to  Western  Africa  was  "  to  send  those 
only  who  may  offer  themselves  for  that  specific  service.  As  the  responsibility 
of  choosing  and  going  to  the  field  is  thus,  in  the  first  instance,  assumed  by  the 
missionary  himself,  it  has  been  deemed  proper  that  he  should  have  the  liberty 
of  returning,  if  in  his  judgment  his  health  should  require  his  doing  so  for  a 
longer  or  shorter  time."  Mr.  Pinney,  accompanied  by  Rev.  Oren  K.  Canfield 
and  Mr.  Jonathan  P.  Alward,  reached  Monrovia  in  1839,  an<^  a^ter  exploring 
the  coast  for  150  miles,  they  settled  among  the  Kroo  people,  who  live  about 
halfway  between  Monrovia  and  Cape  Palmas.  Sickness  again  compelled  Mr. 
Pinney's  return,  and  while  the  others  were  looking  forward  to  doing  much 
for  souls  and  for  Christ,  they  were  both  called  to  their  rest,  Mr.  Alward  in 
1841,  and  Mr.  Canfield  the  following  year.  The  latter  was  joined  by  Rev. 
Robert  W.  Sawyer  and  his  wife,  in  December,  1841,  tut  he  was  called  to  his 
heavenly  home  in  1843. 

These  frequent  deaths  led  the  Board  to  send  out,  as  they  offered,  colored 
ministers,  so  that  in  1842  we  find  the  names  of  three — Rev.  Messrs.  Eden, 
Priest,  and  Wilson.  Three  stations  were  then  occupied — Settra  Kroo,  Sinoe, 
and  Monrovia.  Much  attention  was  given  to  education  at  the  first  of  these 
stations,  which  was  occupied  till  1850,  when  Mr.  Connolly,  who  had  labored 
here  from  his  arrival  in  1844,  was  obliged  from  failure  of  health  to  return  to 
the  United  States,  and  since  that  period  no  ordained  laborer  has  been  stationed 
among  the  Kroos.  These  Kroos  have  never  been  engaged  in  the  slave-trade, 
nor  have  they  suffered  their  people  to  be  enslaved.  They  are  more  intelli- 
gent and  energetic  than  other  tribes,  but  they  are  proud  and  sensual.  More 
than  two  hundred  of  the  boys,  and  some  of  the  girls,  were  taught  to  read,  and 
much  precious  seed  was  sown,  but  when  the  missionary  left,  not  a  soul  had  ap- 
peared interested  in  the  truths  of  the  Gospel  or  espoused  the  cause  of  Christ. 

In  the  year  1847  the  Rev.  H.  W.  Ellis,  a  learned  slave  in  Alabama,  whose 
freedom  and  that  of  his  family  had  been  purchased,  reached  Liberia.  After  the 
death  of  Mr.  Eden,  Mr.  Ellis  took  charge  of  the  church  at  Monrovia,  and  Mr. 
Priest  moved  to  Greenville.  The  Presbytery  of  Western  Africa  was  consti- 
tuted in  December,  1848,  and  two  members  of  the  Monrovia  church  were 
taken  under  the  care  of  the  Presbytery.  The  Alexander  High  School  went 
into  operation  the  following  year,  with  encouraging  prospects  of  usefulness. 
It  has  been  the  means  of  accomplishing  much  for  the  Republic,  and  especially 
under  the  administration  of  Rev.  D.  A.  Wilson;  but  it  has  not  been  as  effective 
an  educational  agency  as  was  expected  when  first  instituted.  The  great  want 
of  Liberia  all  along  its  history  has  been  primary  schools,  and  a  sufficient  num- 


14  Missions  in    Western  Africa. 

ber  of  educated  men  to  take  an  interest  in  the  cause  of  education.  The  re- 
port for  1852  mentions  that  the  church  at  Monrovia  had  32  communicants, 
that  at  Kentucky  had  5$ — to  this  church  14  were  added  that  year.  The  Sinoe 
church  had  45  members.  Mr.  James,  who  had  united  with  the  mission  some 
years  before,  was  carrying  on  a  successful  school  at  the  capital. 

It  was  felt  by  the  Board  that  if  Liberia  was  ever  to  rise  to  respectability 
and  importance  as  a  nation  it  must  be  brought  more  under  a  thorough  relig- 
ious and  educational  influence,  and  to  do  this  the  people  must,  for  a  time,  be 
dependent  on  the  aid  given  by  American  churches.  This  idea  became  gen- 
eral among  different  denominations,  and  for  years  they  were  liberal  in  extend- 
ing help,  but  this  instead  of  producing  strong  and  active  Christians  who  were 
ready,  by  the  constant  emigration  received  from  the  States,  to  assume  their 
own  church  support,  they  became  dependent  on  others,  and  they  have  never 
put  forth  any  active  or  vigorous  measures  for  their  own  sustentation,  or  for  the 
welfare  of  the  heathen  in  the  Republic,  and  now,  as  the  various  Boards  have 
been  compelled  to  withdraw  means  that  had  been  given,  the  feebleness  of  the 
churches  is  manifest,  and  it  is  doubtful  what  the  future  of  Liberia  is  to  be. 

Rev.  Amos  Herring,  formerly  of  the  Methodist  Church,  became  connected 
with  the  mission  in  1854,  and  took  charge  of  the  church  at  Monrovia.  A  new 
colonial  settlement,  called  Harrisburgh,  was  formed  on  the  St.  Paul,  about 
30  miles  from  the  sea  coast,  and  a  church  was  organized,  which  was  placed 
under  the  supervision  of  Mr.  Simon  Harrison,  a  licentiate  of  the  Presbytery. 

The  frequent  collisions  between  the  Liberians  and  the  aborigines  interfered 
with  evangelistic  work.  Animosities  were  fostered  and  evils  produced  that 
impoverished  the  people  and  wrought  alienations.  From  necessity  and  the 
peculiarities  of  the  case,  the  missionaries  gave  themselves  to  labor  among  the 
Liberians,  and  the  consequence  has  been  that  the  heathens  among  whom  they 
live  are  heathens  still. 

The  year  1857  was  blessed  to  many.  12  were  received  into  the  church  at 
Monrovia,  making  the  total  of  communicants  56  ;  to  the  church  at  Kentucky 
18  were  added,  and  several  to  the  others.  In  1859  Rev-  Messrs.  Amos  and 
Miller,  who  were  trained  at  the  Ashmun  Institute,  reinforced  this  mission. 
With  the  exception  of  Rev.  Edwin  Williams,  who  had  been  stationed  for  a 
time  at  Corisco,  and  the  ordination  of  Rev.  Edward  W.  Blyden,  a  graduate  of 
the  Alexander  High  School,  no  new  laborers  had  been  sent  to  this  mission. 
In  virtue  of  this  reinforcement  two  new  stations  were  opened.  Mr.  Amos 
died  in  1864  and  Mr.  Miller  in  the  early  part  of  1865.  Rev.  Edward  Boek- 
len,  a  native  of  Germany,  went  out  in  1866  to  take  charge  of  the  Alexander 
High  School,  but  he  died  of  the  African  fever  in  1868.  With  the  exception 
of  some  teachers  trained  up  in  the  field,  and  some  ministers  educated  on  the 
ground,  no  new  laborers  have  been  sent  for  many  years.  Liberia  needs,  at 
this  time,  the  infusion  of  new  blood.  She  demands  new  workers  fitted  for  the 
peculiar  condition  of  things  in  the  Republic  and  adapted  to  the  climate. 

There  is  a  great  work  to  be  done,  not  only  in  Liberia  proper,  but  in  the  re- 


Missions  in    Western  Africa,  15 

gions  beyond.  Mohammedanism  is  active  in  the  interior,  and  Christianity- 
should  be  there  to  meet  and  stay  its  inroads.  The  natives  will  be  more  difficult 
to  be  reached  with  the  Gospel  as  Mohammedans  than  as  heathens.  At  pres- 
ent there  are  five  ministers  and  three  teachers  in  connection  with  the  mission. 
There  are  10  churches,  with  a  membership  of  250. 

The  population  of  Americo-Liberians  is  decreasing.  The  financial  state  of 
the  country  continues  bad.  The  government,  modelled  after  our  own,  is  too 
expensive.  The  most  energetic  and  intelligent  of  the  young  men  are  trained 
away  from  home,  and  are  scattered  through  the  interior  for  trading  purposes. 
More  enterprise  is  manifested  by  the  people,  and  the  exportation  of  coffee  is 
gradually  increasing.  Drunkenness  does  not  decrease.  This,  as  far  as  we 
can  gather,  is  a  faithful  portraiture  of  Liberia. 

Whilst  some  of  our  people  have  taken  an  interest  in  Liberia,  our  govern- 
ment has  done  nothing  for  her.  The  English  colonists  receive  different  treat- 
ment from  England,  and  as  she  has  expensive  dependencies  in  Western  Africa, 
it  is  a  question  whether  Liberia  would  not  do  better  to  be  attached  to  England 
as  a  colony. 


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